That didn’t mean much to me as far as medical malpractice is concerned. But others were more creative than I was. This is a great post about Abraham Lincoln’s experiences defending doctors in medical malpractice cases. Apparently, the basic issues that we’re still dealing with were around well over a century ago. Here’s a sample:

In October of 1855, Keziah West sued Dr. Powers Ritchey in Hancock, Illinois, for medical malpractice. Dr. Ritchey had set Mrs. West’s wrist after a fracture and dislocation. Dr. Ritchey did not use surgical intervention but applied splints and bandages to the wrist. Unfortunately, Mrs. West’s wrist failed to heal to her satisfaction. Mrs. West claimed that her hand was both deformed and unusable. Her list of Dr. Ritchey’s deviations from the standard of care included: 1) failure to apply long enough splints; 2) failure to apply wide enough splints; and 3) failure to diagnose the wrist dislocations; and 4) failure to properly follow up with patient after treatment….

Lincoln found himself in the frustrating position of many appellate lawyers. Then as today, new evidence and objections cannot be raised on appeal. Dr. Ritchey’s attorneys at trial had failed to introduce key medical evidence. Only five years earlier, Dr. Frank H. Hamilton had published a study of 461 fractures. Dr. Hamilton’s study revealed only ten percent of wrist fractures treated healed with “perfect” unity. This evidence would have been tremendously beneficial to Dr. Ritchey, but it was never offered. Lincoln was frustrated. His client had a good defense, but he was blocked from bringing it out in the appellate brief because of defense counsel’s omissions at the trial court level. (Id. @ 90) Predictably, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected Lincoln’s efforts. Dr. Ritchey was found to have lacked “ordinary skill” in his care of Mrs. West. Dr. Ritchey was ordered to pay Mrs. West $983.35 for damages, costs, and court fees.

The entry covers much more about Lincoln’s career and makes a case that the President had some memories to draw upon when he spoke of the need to “bind up the Nation’s wounds.”

It is amazing to me that, in that day, people were so sure that serious broken bones should heal completely without any difference after the breakage. But some were, and were ready to blame the doctor for any disappointment to their expectations.

Read the whole entry.