Attorney's disregard of facts

Coffey's letter denies his firm
represents Lisa-death hospital

By David Baker
Posted Monday, March 09, 2009

Either Steve Coffey thinks he can lie about what his own law firm is doing. Or he makes written statements without bothering to check that they are true.

On February 18, Coffey wrote a letter in response to allegations that his law firm had a conflict of interest when he called me and offered to consider taking over my wrongful death case against Samaritan Hospital.

I had already shown that Coffey’s firm was representing the Healthcare Association of New York State, which lists as a member Samaritan Hospital.

Then in his letter last month Coffey wrote:

“[O’Connell & Aronowitz ] did not and we do not represent Samaritan Hospital.”

One day later, Coffey’s firm filed a lawsuit alleging that the state Department of Health has charged medical labs too much in fees.

Among the plaintiffs named in that lawsuit is – Samaritan Hospital.

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The doctor will see you – without your First Amendment rights

Back in 2005, I reported on this page that a number of Web sites had appeared containing comments about medical providers. The piece went on to say that some of the providers were hitting back with lawsuits against patients who made negative comments.

Last week, several news organizations reported that some doctors are now requiring people to sign a waiver, giving up their right to make public comments about the provider.

Most people interviewed said they simply wouldn’t go to a doctor who made such a demand.

And as for the forthcoming page that will list medical malpractice lawsuits filed over the past 10 years against Capital Region hospitals and doctors: Because the information will come from public court records, a lawsuit that tried to stop it would have little chance of success.

But the publicity would be priceless.

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