Chappaqua Personal Injury Blog

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has finally shut down one of its most sued LASIK surgeons, after more than a decade of complaints.

Dr. Nicholas Caro was found guilty of unprofessional conduct and gross negligence earlier this month. However, he has been sued nearly 50 times for medical malpractice since the 1990’s.

While he has been banned from performing any more LASIK surgery, and fined $10,000, that is a small consolation for the dozens of patients who have suffered life altering visual disabilities as a result of his unprofessional conduct and gross negligence.

The fact that Dr. Caro’s colleagues and the Illinois licensing authorities tolerated his misconduct for more than a decade is inexplicable.

If you are a potential patient entering the Wild, Wild West of LASIK, the good surgeons vastly outnumber the bad. However, bad doctors like Nick Caro do not come with warning labels. Consequently, you are on your own.

Coincidentally, the Chicago Tribune story has two ads by Google linked to this story. One is to LASIKPlus, whom I sued in Virginia earlier this month. The second is for “Cornell-Columbia-Harvard trained” Dr. Kevin Niksarli, M.D., against whom I obtained a $5.6 million LASIK malpractice verdict in June 2009.

Sources: Chicago Tribune Article Regarding Dr. Nick Caro - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-bad-eye-doctor-20100219,0,2101781.story; Lawsuits Against Dr. Nick Caro - http://www.lifeafterlasik.com/nickcarolawsuits.htm; Niksarli Verdict Press Release - http://www.krounerlaw.com/press-release-061109.html; LASIKPlus Press Release - http://www.krounerlaw.com/press-release-021210.html

June 15, 2009

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Re:    Obama Open To Reining In Medical Suits: Bargaining Chip Seen in Health Overhaul, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Robert Pear, A1, June 15, 2009

Dear Madam or Sir:

In the June 15, 2009 edition of The New York Times, President Obama reportedly seeks to immunize doctors from medical malpractice lawsuits if they adhere to standard guidelines.  From the perspective of a LASIK malpractice lawyer, it is a dumb idea.

First, who will draft the guidelines?  Following a $7.25 Million LASIK malpractice verdict in 2005, seven LASIK surgeons drafted a White Paper to promulgate such guidelines for LASIK surgery, to ensure that no such verdict would be duplicated.  In the process, they obliterated a decade of medical knowledge and claimed there were no standards.  They did not do so in the interest of medicine, but explicitly to dampen the “considerable anxiety” among their fellow refractive surgeons following the verdict.

Second, who will serve as the administrative referees?  In a case last week, one seemingly qualified eye doctor actually admitted that his version of the Hippocratic Oath actually meant, in part, “First, harm no ophthalmologist.”

Third, if the profession is incapable of throwing out serial offenders now, who will address this issue later?  In President Obama’s hometown of Chicago, Dr. Nicholas Caro has been sued more than 40 times. Still, he performs LASIK surgery.

Fourth, why would doctors want to trade in their judgment to follow guidelines like robots? The best defense of any medical malpractice claim is the doctor’s exercise of his sound professional judgment.

If the SEC could not protect us from Bernie Madoff, why should the public be comfortable having a similar bureaucracy created to dispense “justice” to victims of medical malpractice?

Respectfully submitted,

Todd J. Krouner

For more information regarding LASIK surgery and LASIK medical malpractice, please visit http://www.krounerlaw.com/ or call 914-769-8700.