Trial Magazine

When most medical professionals begin their careers, they take an oath. The exact wording and administration differ among medical schools and fields, but the gen­eral emphasis relates back to Hippocrates’s ancient command—do no harm.

When we became lawyers, we took an oath too. We swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to protect the rights of its citizens.

When we became lawyers, we took an oath too. We swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to protect the rights of its citizens. To fulfill that oath, it is our responsibility to hold medical professionals accountable when they fail to uphold theirs.

This month’s issue of Trial is an especially interesting one for me as I have largely focused my career on representing victims of medical negligence as well as personal injury. Go in depth on fetal monitoring evidence as it applies to birth trauma (p. 26), learn about the dynamics of dangerous fires in operating rooms (p. 34), gain a better ­understanding of private health care in correctional facilities (p. 40), and find out how jurors’ moral values affect their biases (p. 50).

By far, the hardest—but most rewarding—medical cases I work on involve an injury to a baby at birth. The children in these cases often have devastating injuries, and their parents live with worry, financial struggle, and pain. The pressure to protect these families is almost overwhelming. But helping a family protect a baby who has been harmed—and giving that child the chance to live as full and happy a life as possible—is worth it every time.

Birth injury cases are always complicated, and I am lucky to work with many great medical negligence lawyers. The resources and advocacy that AAJ provides are integral to helping us represent our clients. For years, I have depended on the Birth Trauma Litigation Group, the Professional Negligence Law Reporter, and various AAJ list servers to stay up to date on my ever-evolving practice areas.

Newer AAJ resources such as the Court Document, Depositions, and CLE Paper databases can help maximize our knowledge base when preparing for trial. These new membership benefits can be found at www.justice.org/morebenefits.

While I often find myself on the opposite side of a medical professional at deposition or in the courtroom, we are never enemies. I continue to believe that we both strive to protect patients from harm—and that we have opportunities to learn from one another.

This month, I will travel to Ireland to attend the AAJ Leaders Forum Retreat and AAJ Education’s Mastering the Medicine Seminar. This seminar is specifically designed to help prepare attendees for their next medical negligence cases. CLE seminars like this one are another prime example of the outstanding resources AAJ offers. I am incredibly excited to meet with and learn from leading international physicians who will be sharing with us their experience and knowledge.

I hope to see you in Ireland or at one of the many other AAJ Education events available to you in the coming months. As AAJ’s president, I took another oath: to help AAJ fulfill its mission to promote a fair and effective justice system—and I know you join me in advancing that mission.

Kathleen Nastri is an attorney at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport, Conn. She can be reached at kathleen.nastri@justice.org.