01:00 AM EDT on Friday, April 9, 2010
PROVIDENCE — For years, medical malpractice trial dates in Rhode Island often came and went without witnesses taking the stand or evidence being presented.
The trials were scheduled with good intentions, sometimes more than a year in advance. But when the date arrived, lawyers soon discovered they weren’t ready for the courtroom. Sometimes witnesses would have to be paid regardless, because they blocked out the time to testify based on the scheduled trial date.
“It just wasn’t working. There were dates that weren’t good dates,” said lawyer Amato A. “Bud” DeLuca. “It inevitably didn’t work out.”
Presiding Superior Court Justice Alice B. Gibney, who took the helm last fall, is trying to take control of the court’s handling of medical malpractice lawsuits. At the start of the year, Gibney assigned Judge Netti C. Vogel to oversee the calendar, with the aim of moving along the 450 cases in the pipeline statewide.
With a hard-charging, detail-oriented style, Vogel is attempting to whip the process into shape. Each Friday, lawyers line up outside her courtroom on the third floor of the Frank Licht Judicial Complex. A deputy sheriff hands each a number, and they see the judge in that order.
Alan R. Tate, who represents hospitals and doctors, was among about 20 lawyers lined up on a recent morning. He said “the jury’s still out” on the changes, but that all parties would benefit from having firm deadlines and clear expectations as the pretrial process unfolds.
Working with lawyers for the defendants and the plaintiffs, Vogel sets a detailed schedule for witnesses to be deposed, evidence to be produced and a trial to realistically take place. After discovery is complete, the parties are ordered into mediation. If a settlement can’t be reached, Vogel contacts the scheduling office and a trial date is set.
Known for their complexity, medical malpractice cases often involve testimony from doctors or other experts from outside Rhode Island. A case could involve an infant injured at birth or medicine incorrectly prescribed.
The new process requires Vogel to familiarize herself with all aspects of the cases, as opposed to their being shuttled between judges. She has the ability to set, and hold lawyers to, a realistic schedule.
The previous system left lawyers sometimes frustrated with each other due to delays, and left judges with blocks of free time when scheduled trials weren’t ready to go, Vogel said. (The judges would then be assigned other cases, she said.) In a sense, it created a self-perpetuating gridlock, as one missed deposition could throw the whole pretrial schedule off, court officials say.
“It was just a problem that needed to be addressed,” Vogel said. “It didn’t promote civility.”
Gibney is pleased with the results so far. “The feedback has been very positive from both sides of the bar,” Gibney said. The centralized system saves time and allows doctors, patients and lawyers to plan in advance, she said.
“[Vogel] is like an air traffic controller,” Gibney said. “She’s very efficient.”
Mark Mandell, a lawyer who represents patients, gave the revised process good reviews. “She gets in detail with cases, which is exactly what we need,” Mandell said. “It keeps things from taking on lives of their own.”
Mark B. Decof, also a plaintiffs’ lawyer, was more reserved.
“I’m cautiously optimistic the system is going to help,” Decof said. “It’s a big task.”
BY THE NUMBERS
104
Medical malpractice lawsuits filed statewide in 2009100
Number filed statewide in 2008118
Number filed statewide in 2007