You don't scare me!

I have not written anything substantial on this blog for over a week, and, as I said last week, I have all kinds of stuff I want to write. Unfortunately, I'm taking the limited time that I do have to work on the blog to blow off some steam. So, with that said, here's an open letter to those families who believe that being hostile will get their loved one better care. I'm guessing that most everyone in the medical community would sign this letter with me.

Dear ______ family,

You do not scare me. I know you can't believe that, but you can call me up and threaten to sue me from here to eternity and I will not miss a minute of sleep. Your hollow threats to "have your attorney" call me are always hollow. My company does not have a defense attorney because you and all those like you are bullies who can't afford to have their bluff called. I have never been sued, but people like you tell me that they will on a very regular basis. If you do pull the trigger and find a sleazy, two bit, egg sucking, ambulance chasing lawyer to represent you, the only question I will ask when trying to choose my attorney is whether they think they can get the judge to make you pay their fees also since the lawsuit is such a piece of crap.

Yes, there may come a day when either I or someone on my staff makes a mistake, but that day wasn't today. You are upset, confused, overwhelmed, and feeling more than a bit helpless, but that is no excuse to treat me or my staff they way you are. I can only hope you are acting this way out of some misguided theory that we will pay more attention to your loved one if we are scared of you. (I'd rather believe that than think that you really are this much of a jerk.) I hate to burst your bubble, but I believe your loved one's care will suffer because of your actions. Once you betray yourselves as people who want to sue us, we will be very cautious about what we say and do. The last thing you want is for us to react slowly, but having to stop and view our decisions through the eyes of a judge slows reaction time significantly. No, we are not scared that you will win, but we'd rather not have to waste our time with your baseless lawsuits. We won't work harder or faster and I can almost guarantee that we won't be as aggressive as you are going to want us to be.

So, sit down, shut-up, and let me do my job. We are good at what we do, and you are lucky that you have us. Do what you want, but I'm just telling you that the faster you change your attitude the better it is for everyone involved.

I feel much better!