Taking a Stand Part 3 – Janet Asks God, “What Would You Have Me Do?”

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July 28, 2010 by Rest Ministries  
Filed under Advocacy, Articles, Books, Ethics, What's New?

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Monday we heard Janet’s story as she discovered her doctors had lied about a medical mistake they had made 15 years earlier. Yesterday she shared about finding her x-rays had mysteriously disappeared. Today is Part 3 of her story from her book Taking a Stand, available at Rest Ministries bookstore and on sale this week for just $7.99.

Janet Asks God, “What Would You Have Me Do?”

I wrestled with my anger and convictions. What should Christians do when they learn they’ve been victims of medical fraud? What should they do when they discover that their doctors have injured many others and some have even died?

Marty and I prayed. We sought godly counsel from our pastor, elders and family members. We were challenged by the phrase, “Sometimes our faith requires action.” We were reminded how God feels about lukewarm, indifferent believers who don’t take a stand. After much prayer, we knew what God was asking us to do. And now we know for certain, when God asks us to do something it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be easy.

I found out that obtaining legal representation for a med-malpractice case is not easy. One prospective attorney said it like this, “Janet, I hate to be the one to take the wind out of your sails, but the facts are clear. Ninety percent of all med-mal cases settle. Some settle on the doorsteps of the courthouse, but they settle. Ten percent actually go to trial, and doctors win ninety percent of the time.”

But if it was truly God’s plan for me to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice, concealment and fraud, then God would provide an attorney for me. And that He did. Bridgett Halvorson was a young, confident, attorney in Northern California, who worked for a defense firm. Wasn’t it just like God to provide me with a “defense attorney”—someone, whose entire career had been geared to representing doctors and not the injured?

Yet, I knew that God had a history of using the “unexpected” to accomplish His will. I remembered Mary the “virgin,” Sarah the “barren baby-boomer,” and then thought—Bridget the “defense attorney.” Why not?

It wasn’t long before Dr. Allgood was referring to my attorney as an “ambulance chaser” And it wasn’t long before he revealed that he did not carry medical malpractice insurance.

“This is absurd!” I cried. “You can’t legally drive without automobile insurance. How can it be legal for doctors to cut someone open, tinker with their insides, sew them back up, and not be insured?”

Research revealed that Dr. Allgood’s words to Bridget were true. Except for a brief six-month period of time, Dr. Allgood practiced medicine for over twenty years—uninsured. This brought me to the hospital where my surgical mistakes had been made and where Dr. Allgood was practicing medicine. I met with their legal department, informing them that I believed that Dr. Allgood was uninsured and that his proof of insurance that I had obtained a copy of did not appear accurate. Dr. Allgood’s staff privileges were terminated that very day.

I began to count the days waiting for a trial date. Months passed and my doctors filed a motion for summary judgment. We appeared in court where the each side submitted their evidence.

After reviewing my case, the judge determined that in my case, a jury trial was unnecessary and that a reasonable jury, could only rule one way—in favor of my doctor’s! And just like that, I had lost. I had lost my right to sue.

Determined, we appealed the ruling and despite the additional evidence of my medical chart, Dr. Ulild’s artwork and my thank you letter, the judge upheld his previous decision. I felt confused. God, didn’t you direct me to file a lawsuit? Do you know how bad it feels to be thrown out of court and lose?

Oh, God did understand! Jesus knew first hand. Mine was not the first court hearing that was ever deemed unfair. Jesus’ trial was not fair either. And yet God in his perfect wisdom brought good out of evil, as it is through Jesus’ death that we receive eternal life.

Despite our circumstances and the odds against us, Marty and I chose to be obedient to what we felt God was asking us to do. We filed an appeal with the Appellate Court of California and knew that it was God’s job to be God and take care of us.

A year-and-a half later, my family and I entered the door of the Appellate Court. There, we sat before a panel of three judges. Disgusted with his findings, one of the judges stated to Dr. Ulild’s attorney, “Sir, I’m not sure how many angels you’re trying to get to dance on the head of my pen.”

Another judge concluded, “If I were these doctors, I would plead the Fifth and run out of town!” That was it. In a matter of days the lower court’s ruling was reversed and I was headed back to trial!

Three months before my trial, God added another attorney to my legal team. Marjorie Day, a seventy-six-year-old elder, from my church, came out of retirement to try my case with Bridgett by her side.

In May of 1999 my trial began. Dr. Allgood represented himself as his own lawyer and God showed up in miraculous ways. There, Dr. Ulild’s story of the mistake changed drastically. He testified that no surgical mistake had ever occurred, saying he was mistaken when he informed me that one had. His explanation for the confusion was that he had suffered, “a wrong memory synapse.”

Dr. Allgood admitted to the jury that his medical records of me had been discarded—purged. When asked about Informed Consent prior to surgery, Dr. Allgood said, “I’ve never gone along with informed consent.”

Within weeks the jury concluded that my doctors had intentionally concealed from me vital information concerning my medical care and that this intentional concealment had caused me harm. From defeat to victory, God was faithful!

Tomorrow’s post is the conclusion of Janet’s medical malpractice story. Find out how she changed laws regarding medical malpractice law and California health insurance so that others can be protected from some of the challenges she faced in her journey.

Rest Ministries is delighted to have Janet Lynn Mitchell’s book, Taking a Stand, available in our bookstore. When Janet and her parents discovered they had been lied to for years and huge chunks of her medical records had been purged (along with x-rays that mysteriously went missing) what was her answer? Read more in Taking a Stand as this woman makes choices about how to find joy despite the betrayals and also make changes in laws that will protect others. Order Taking a Stand today!