items tagged with disability discrimination

Original article can be found here. Copyright 2009 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

A punitive damages verdict is enough to catch anyone's attention. But a verdict for punitive damages in a disability discrimination case can be a double whammy for physicians.

Since such claims are not covered under traditional medical liability insurance, any judgments would come out of doctors' own pockets.

That is exactly what befell New Jersey rheumatologist Robert A. Fogari, MD, when a Hudson County jury in October 2008 unanimously handed down a $400,000 award against him for allegedly refusing to pay for a sign language interpreter for a patient who is deaf. Half of the award was for punitive damages.

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