Judge who declared mistrial stood up for rights of injured

02/02/2005

Editor:

I read with interest the story about Lackawanna County Judge Trish Corbett declaring a mistrial in a malpractice case against Dr. David Caucci after the doctor's wife, Elizabeth, wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in The Scranton Times on the first day of the trial. I applaud Judge Corbett for standing up for the rights of the injured patient to get a fair and impartial hearing of his case.

Like Judge Corbett, I don't believe for one minute that Dr. Caucci's wife innocently wrote a letter to the editor on the eve of her husband's trial, as Dr. Heather Horton claimed in a recent letter to The Tribune criticizing Judge Corbett's ruling. Mrs. Caucci is a frequent letter writer. As Judge Corbett noted, it's hard to believe she didn't know her letter blaming injured victims for jacking up her husband's liability insurance rates would appear during the trial.

As a victim of medical negligence myself, I know how difficult it is to get an impartial jury in Lackawanna County, given the overwhelming propaganda campaign by the medical lobby. Even without deliberate jury tampering, the scales of justice are already tipped against victims of medical mistakes.

What Judge Corbett did was not make sure "the lawyers get their money," as Dr. Horton claims. The judge made sure the injured patient in the case will get a fair shot at justice. And, by ordering Dr. Caucci to pay the victim's legal bills, Judge Corbett sent a message to the doctor and his wife that any attempt to put a thumb on the scales of justice will not be tolerated.

Joseph Piechota
Scranton