Where are they now? Rancho Sudiegirl finds out.
Sudiegirl sez: If you recall, back in August 2005, I wrote about this doctor who apparently misplaced his tact on several occasions. This case jumped out at me today and I just felt I HAD to follow up. Let's see what happens, shall we?
Court says stop case against rude doctor
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 7, 12:06 AM ET
A judge has ordered the state Board of Medicine to stop disciplinary proceedings against a doctor accused of telling a patient she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men and advising another to shoot herself following brain surgery. (Ah - modern medicine is SO sympathetic these days, don't you agree?)
Judge Edward Fitzgerald made clear in a ruling released Thursday that he did not condone remarks attributed to Dr. Terry Bennett and found them unnecessary, but ruled Bennett had a right to speak bluntly. (OK...I am SURE I'm not the only one who heard snippets of Gordon Lightfoot ringing through my head - I'm just not inspired to compose lyrics right now.)
"It is nonetheless important ... to ensure that physicians and patients are free to discuss 
matters relating to health without fear of government reprisal, even if such discussions may sometimes be harsh, rude or offensive to the listener," he concluded in the ruling Wednesday. (Yeah, I guess I can see that, but what if those remarks are unnecessary to the diagnosis? I mean, if he's an intelligent man, couldn't he pick out better words?)
The complaints against Bennett included charges that he told a white patient that she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men. (I guess the controversy lies in the interpretation. Personally, if a black man liked me for my body type and was nice looking, good to me and kind to me, I'd be OK with it. However, that's me and my personal feelings.)
"Let's face it, if your husband were to die tomorrow, who would want you?" the board has said Bennett told the overweight patient in June 2004. "Well, men might want you, but not the types you want to want you. Might even be a black guy," it quoted him as saying, based on the woman's complaint. (Oh...now, that's not nice. But above and beyond that, it really shows his old-fashioned thinking. Come on! Unless she's never worked and has no savings or anything, she could survive on her own. Too many women have lived their lives worrying about who would want them. That's why they pick the wrong ones - because they feel unworthy to begin with.)
Bennett, 68, has denied making the comment, but has said he's seen polls supporting that position.
"If you look at the polling, nobody likes fat women," he said last year. "Is it right? No. Is it sensible? No. Is it true? Yeah ... Black guys are the only group that don't mind that. Is that racist to say that?" (Well, that all depends...are you wearing a KKK robe and mask?)
A 2001 complaint accused Bennett of telling a woman recovering from brain surgery to buy a pistol and shoot herself to end her suffering. The doctor was also accused of speaking harshly to a woman about how her son might have contracted hepatitis, according to the ruling.
Bennett claimed victory. (I wonder how HE might have reacted if someone had said these things to him or a loved one. He'd probably be suing everyone in sight. That's usually how this stuff works.)
"The question now is: Will the board waste more of your and my tax dollars and appeal this, or accept done as done?" he said in a telephone interview. (Something tells me I'd pay extra taxes to take care of business.)
Fitzgerald also ruled that state and American Medical Association requirements to treat 
patients with "compassion and respect for human dignity and rights" are so vague they are unconstitutional. Bennett probably would have won his challenges before the board, the judge said. (Yeah, but how can you be sure, since it's so open to interpretation?)
Bennett said he planned to sue everyone involved for "malicious prosecution." (Now who's being cranky?)
"I am not inclined to be forgiving about it," he said. "It's been devastating and infuriating." (I see someone else has his thesaurus out. How about "frustrating", "a real pisser", or "a pain in the tuckus"?)
Assistant Attorney General Elyse Alkalay, who represented the board in the court case, said she was reviewing the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. (I'm not a lawyer, so I guess I don't understand what the hell is the problem with making the decision. AAAGGGHHH.)
Bennett could have faced penalties ranging from a written reprimand to suspension or revocation of his medical license. (What? No FLOGGING??? What's this world coming to?)
Sudiegirl's final opinion?
Well, this doctor is certainly one I won't go to. I think I'll create a new designation for him - how about:
/div>
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