weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) (04/01/86)
The following story is reprinted (without permission) in its
entirety from the 29 March 1986 _San Francisco Chronicle_.
------------------------------------------------------------
PSYCHIC WINS DAMAGE AWARD FOR CAT SCAN
Philadelphia
A woman who sued her hospital and doctor on allegations that their
treatment destroyed her psychic powers has been awarded more than
$1 million in damages, bu a "shocked" hospital attorney said yesterday
that he will appeal the verdict.
Judith Richardson Haimes, 42, of Clearwater, Fla., contended that
as a result of a CAT scan, she suffered severe headaches when she
tried to concentrate to use her psychic powers. Her attorney, Joel
Lieberman, said Haimes had earned her living as a psychic and had
been able to read people's auras and help police solve crimes.
A jury deliberated about 45 minutes Thursday before awarding Haimes
$600,000, plus $418,000 in delay damages. She was undergoing diagnosis
for brain tumors at Temple University Hospital in 1976.
"If the verdict is allowed to stand, it's an outrage and an example of
why the American tort system has to be changed," said Richard Galli,
an attorney for Temple University Hospital, where the CAT scan was
performed.
After the jury heard Haimes' case, Court of Common Pleas Judge Leon
Katz ordered the jury to disregard Haimes' allegations about her lost
psychic powers and to consider only her testimony about the negative
allergic reaction she suffered from a dye injected during the CAT scan.
Galli said the jury either did not listen to the judge's instructions,
did not understand them or disregarded them in reaching its verdict.
"I was shocked," Galli said. "There's no basis for it."
United Press
ucbvax!brahms!weemba Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac) (04/02/86)
In article <12833@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) writes: > The following story is reprinted (without permission) in its > entirety from the 29 March 1986 _San Francisco Chronicle_. > ------------------------------------------------------------ > PSYCHIC WINS DAMAGE AWARD FOR CAT SCAN > > Philadelphia > > A woman who sued her hospital and doctor on allegations that their > treatment destroyed her psychic powers has been awarded more than > $1 million in damages, bu a "shocked" hospital attorney said yesterday > that he will appeal the verdict. This is a formal notification that I intend to file a lawsuit against all contributors to this net and the institutions that support it. On or about January 21, 1986 I noticed that I had lost all my psychic powers due to overexposure to random flames. These powers included the ability to tell which way a cockroach was going to run and the uncanny ability to unscrew twistoff beer tops. In view of this I think a settlement of about $100,000,000 would be fair. Applying my remaining psychic powers to the problem I think this comes to $1000 per reader of this message. Please send a check or money order immediately. Electronic facsimiles will not be accepted. -- "Ma, I've been to another Ethan Vishniac planet!" {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan ethan@astro.UTEXAS.EDU Department of Astronomy University of Texas
mbr@aoa.UUCP (Mark Rosenthal) (04/03/86)
In article <12833@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) writes: >The following story is reprinted (without permission) in its >entirety from the 29 March 1986 _San Francisco Chronicle_. >------------------------------------------------------------ > PSYCHIC WINS DAMAGE AWARD FOR CAT SCAN I saw the same article in the Boston Globe. As near as I can tell, this is sensationalist journalism at its worst. The article doesn't tell us much about the facts of the case, but a paragraph buried near the end of the article gives some information with which we can speculate. >After the jury heard Haimes' case, Court of Common Pleas Judge Leon >Katz ordered the jury to disregard Haimes' allegations about her lost >psychic powers and to consider only her testimony about the negative >allergic reaction she suffered from a dye injected during the CAT scan. We are told nothing about how serious the allergic reaction was, or whether doctors at Temple University Hospital could have known that the allergy existed. Was there perhaps a test they should have performed to determine whether to expect an allergic reaction? Did they negligently fail to do this? Were there other alternatives that could have been used if an allergy had been expected? What effects besides "loss of psychic powers" did this reaction have? We'll never know by reading the article. -- Mark of the Valley of Roses ...!{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!aoa!mbr ...!{wjh12,mit-vax}!biomed!aoa!mbr
gordon@cae780.UUCP (Brian Gordon) (04/16/86)
In article <596@utastro.UUCP> ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac) writes: >In article <12833@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) writes: >> A woman who sued her hospital and doctor on allegations that their >> treatment destroyed her psychic powers has been awarded more than >> $1 million in damages, bu a "shocked" hospital attorney said yesterday >> that he will appeal the verdict. > >This is a formal notification that I intend to file a lawsuit against >all contributors to this net and the institutions that support it. >On or about January 21, 1986 I noticed that I had lost all my psychic >powers due to overexposure to random flames. These powers included the >ability to tell which way a cockroach was going to run and the uncanny >ability to unscrew twistoff beer tops. > >In view of this I think a settlement of about $100,000,000 would be fair. >Applying my remaining psychic powers to the problem I think this comes to >$1000 per reader of this message. Please send a check or money order >immediately. Electronic facsimiles will not be accepted. Fellow members of the jury, if these people were REALLY psychic, why didn't they foresee the problem that the exposure would cause and avoid it ... ;-} FROM: Brian G. Gordon, CAE Systems Division of Tektronix, Inc. UUCP: tektronix!teklds!cae780!gordon {ihnp4, decvax!decwrl}!amdcad!cae780!gordon {hplabs, resonex, qubix, leadsv}!cae780!gordon USNAIL: 5302 Betsy Ross Drive/#58137, Santa Clara, CA 95052-8137 AT&T: (408)748-4817 [direct] (408)727-1234 [switchboard]