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For years, California allowed doctors who were arrested for drug and alcohol infractions, including DUIs, to conceal their arrests from patients. Such doctors, even if convicted, entered a “diversion” program that allowed them to keep practicing even if they violated the terms of the five-year program, and even if they failed drug tests during the program. Patients were in the dark.
Patients like Tina Minasian were, and still are, the victims of these addled doctors. Tina’s abdominal surgery in 2002 left her with a months-long infection of the surgical wound, years-long pain and permanent mutilation.
Unknown to her, Minasian’s doctor was an alcoholic, participating in the former Diversion Program run by the Medical Board of California. Among the things that Minasian did not know was that the appointed “monitor” of the doctor’s compliance and sobriety was the doctor’s own office manager. At the order of the doctor, the manager repeatedly covered up his continued drinking.
If she had known about the surgeon’s alcoholism, Minasian said she would never have gone to him. Minasian was far from his only victim. Numerous others have come to light since the late 1990s, including a breast cancer patient whose breast reconstruction was botched.
The Medical Board of California finally responded to cases like Minasian’s by canceling the Diversion Program in 2008. Patients, however, are still in the dark.
As for the doctor who treated Minasian, despite failing his five-year diversion program he was placed on probation by the Medical Board and continued his surgical practice until 2012, when his license was finally revoked.
Californians will have the chance to vote on the Fairness for Injured Patients Act on the November 2022 ballot. The Fairness Act would update California’s medical malpractice damage cap for nearly 50 years of inflation, and allow judges and juries to decide fair compensation in cases involving catastrophic injury or death. Learn more about this campaign for patient safety.
Click the map to view stories by Senate District
A state law that hasn’t changed since 1975 caps compensation for families harmed by medical negligence. The limits apply to lost quality of life, even if a patient loses a leg, a child, or is disabled for life. Click on the picture of the map to find patients by the State Senate Districts they live in.
Paid for by Consumer Watchdog Campaign for the Fairness for Injured Patients Act
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