Medical Whistleblower’s

Canary Notes

Medical Whistleblower

November 2008

Witness intimidation involves witnesses cru-

cial to court proceedings being threatened in

order to pressure or extort them not to testify.

The term “witness” is used to refer both to vic-

tims and to bystanders who could provide in-

formation to police. The term “victim” is used to denote the victim of the initial crime. The

refusal of key witnesses to testify commonly renders a case with inadequate physical

evidence void in a court of law. This is a significant problem that has many lawmakers

considering tough penalties for intimidating a witness as in example the state of Kansas,

where it is a criminal misdemeanor, or, if found to be aggravated a felony.

How common is witness intimidation? It is difficult to know because the crime is greatly

under reported and also when intimidation is successful neither the intimidation nor the

original crime are reported. Many witnesses drop out of the investigation process long

before an indictment or court appearance. Witness intimidation plays a role in many

types of crime. Witness intimidation, however, is not the same as repeat victimization.

Although in both cases the same offenders may be responsible for multiple events, their

motives are different. In witness intimidation, the intent is to discourage the victim from

reporting a crime to police or from cooperating with prosecutors, whereas in repeat vic-

timization, the motive is often acquisitive.

Medical Whistleblowers who witness criminal activity or have been victimized by a crime

are sometimes reluctant to come forward and report incidents to police or to assist in the

prosecution of offenders. In the medical community there are generalized community

norms that discourage doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from cooperat-

ing with a criminal investigation.

Witness Intimidation

The White Coat Barricade

2 –3

The Cost to the Crimi-nal Justice System

3

What is Intimidation? 4

Inside this issue:

Volume 3 Issue 11

From NPR

National Public Radio

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?

storyId=4628606 May 3, 2005 · Rep. Elijah

Cummings (D-MD), former

head of the Congressional

Black Caucus, talked

about his efforts to combat

witness intimidation. He

promoted legislation to

provide $90 million to help

local police forces protect

witnesses to crimes who

feel threatened by the

accused criminals.

The Stalking Resource Center

The National Center For Victims of

Crime

For Victim Assistance, please call

1-800-FYI-CALL

M-F 8:30 AM - 8:30 PM EST,

or e-mail gethelp@ncvc.org

Within the nursing community this witness intimidation has led to what has been called the

White Coat of Silence - nurses keeping silent about mistakes done by doctors or other

hospital staff. Within the doctor’s network which frequently includes upper management at

the hospital or administrative level of the organization or even collaboration with the State

Medical Board, this is called the White Coat Barricade because it entails also the authority

over medical licensing not just silence at the level of co-workers within the hospital. Many

times the criminal offenders in the medical community have close social and professional ties with upper management of

the hospital, the National and State Medical Associations, the State Medical Boards and even local and state govern-

mental officials. Within the academic medical community threats against tenure or promotion are commonly used and

in the medical research community the threats are often related to limiting grant funding or access to research facilities.

Within a hospital or medical research setting intimidation can entail direct threats or violence to discourage a particular

doctor, nurse or researcher from providing information to the investigators on a particular case.

In cases of corruption of hospital management and direct fraud, through the hospital’s own bill-

ing system, the intimidation can be a wide spread problem. In these types of cases the bullying

and workplace hostility create a general sense of fear that settles over the work environment like

a blanket and causes all hospital or research staff to be silenced. Even if the intimidation is nei-

ther violent nor life-threatening, the very threat of a reprisal to a doctor can mean severe com-

promise of his/her career. Medical professionals must work in an environment that demands pa-

tients trust them. Anything that erodes that trust in the doctor-patient relationship will impair the

nurse’s or doctor’s ability to practice.

Threats are much more common than actual physical violence and are in fact just as effective in deterring cooperation.

Some witnesses may experience only a single incident of intimidation, but others experience a pattern of intimidation of

escalating series of threats and actions that become more violent over time. The example of one person successfully

retaliated against, has a chilling effect on the cooperation of all other witnesses. Those who may hear of the intimidation

may then decline to cooperate because they fear retaliation. The removal of one doctor’s medical license or significant

impairment of his/her ability to practice, creates an atmosphere of fear will deter other medical personnel from cooperat-

ing with law enforcement.

The White Coat Barricade

Page 2 Medica l Whist leb lower ’ s Canary Notes Volume 3 Issue 11

Snitches Get Stitches Youth Gangs and Witness Intimidation in Massachusetts http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?

dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=42548

Creating an Effective Stalking Protocol Developed by the National Center for Victims of Crime in conjunction with the U.S. Depart-

ment of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for law enforcement agencies seeking to improve their responses to

stalking. It focuses on the need to establish collaborative partnerships with the community and to develop protocols for early interven-

tion, preventive action, and proactive problem-solving in stalking cases. http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?

dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32560

Stalking POP Guide Developed by the National Center for Victims of Crime and funded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, U.S. Department of Justice, this Problem Oriented Policing guide contains practical, field-tested guidance on stalking preva-

lence, prevention, and effective responses. http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=35207

Since many acts of intimidation are committed at a witness’s home, workplace, or school,

or during the normal course of the witness’s daily activities, minimizing the opportunities

and avenues by which witnesses come into contact with offenders can reduce the inci-

dence of intimidation. This becomes extremely difficult if the Medical Whistleblower is re-

porting someone on the staff, in upper management, or in a governmental position. Nui-

sance phone calls are a particular problem for doctors and medical professionals, who

need to be on call for their critical patients, or who need to have contact with the public in

their routine workday. Withdrawing from social contact may increase the witnesses’

sense of safety but drastically alter their professional life and isolate them from emotional

support.

Under the current system of Medical Quality Review in which any person can make an

anonymous complaint against a doctor, nurse or medical professional, criminals often

make fabricated complaints and then have their own identity protected by immunity while

the false allegations cause an undercover investigation of the medical witness. Thus the

very system supposed to protect the public from bad doctors has the exact opposite effect

of protecting the criminals and intimidating the Medical Whistleblowers. Law enforcement

agencies always contact the State Medical Board regarding any criminal matter affecting a

medical professional, thus alerting anyone on the State Medical Board and their friends

that an investigation is in progress, this is akin to the police dragging a witness in an inner

city neighborhood out into the street and interrogating him/her in front of gang members.

The costs of witness intimidation to the criminal justice system include wasting significant

time and resources spent by the police, inability to protect the public, suspects not being

charged, and cases abandoned or lost in court. In illegal drug trafficking, organized crime,

gang, money laundering and violent crimes, intimidation is common. But it is also preva-

lent in cases of hate crimes, domestic violence, sexual crimes, harassment, prostitution

and sex offenses. Intimidation has also been linked to drug diversion, substance abuse

treatment fraud, guardian abuse, and large scale medical fraud. Intimidation is less likely

in property crime such as burglary. Intimidation usually takes place where law enforce-

ment has little ability to do surveillance and protection such as at the witness’s home,

while the witness is at school or at work, or while the witness is doing daily chores or go-

ing to a social event. But witnesses are also intimidated at crime scenes, at the police

station and even on the witness stand. Once a suspect has been charged and arrested

the likelihood of intimidation increases. So it is crucial to protect witnesses from intimida-

tion in order to curtail crime.

Page 3 Medica l Whist leb lower ’ s Canary Notes Volume 3 Issue 11

The White Coat Barricade (Continued)

The Cost to the Criminal Justice System

Research in Brief, The

Rights of Crime Victims -

Does Legal Protection Make

a Difference? You may also

request a copy of the Re-

search in Brief, The Rights of

Crime Victims - Does Legal

Protection Make a Differ-

ence? (NCJ 173839, 11

pages) from the National

Criminal Justice Reference at

1-800-851-3420. At this 800

number you can also use the

automated NCJRS Fax-on-

Demand service to have a

copy faxed directly to

you. http://www.ncvc.org/

Dr. Janet Parker

P.O. Box C

Lawrence, KS 66044

We are on the Web!

MedicalWhistleblower.googlepages.com

The courts have attempted to balance the witness safety ver-

sus a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to cross-

examination. Many court opinions have emphasized the rights

granted to defendants by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitu-

tion. As many crime victims can attest, the criminal is often

afforded more rights by the justice system than the victim. This

is even more evident in cases of being victimized in a medical workplace. The State Medical

Board presumes the public has the right to anonymity for any and all complaints against a

medical practioner. In attempting to prove allegations against the whistleblower false, Medi-

cal Whistleblowers run into a system that lack of Due Process protections at the level of Peer

Review or the State Medical Board. Medical Whistleblower intimidation can include:

What is Intimidation?

Phone: 360-809-3058

Fax: None

E-mail: MedicalWhislteblower@gmail.com

Supporting the Emotional Health of All Whistleblowers

and their Friends, Supporters and Families.

Medical Whistleblower

Legal Series Bulletins Created for the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Pro-grams, U.S. Department of Justice, these bulletins provide crime victims with clear and con-cise information about key legal issues: http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/ Strengthening Antistalking Stat-utes

The Crime Victim’s Right To Be Present

Enforcement of Protective Orders

Restitution: Making It Work

Ordering Restitution to the Crime Victim

Victim Input Into Plea Agreements

Privacy of Victims? Counseling Communications

The information contained through the Medical Whistle-

blower Canary Notes Newsletter is provided for general

information only. The information provided by the Medial

Whistleblower Canary Notes does not constitute legal or

professional advice nor is it conveyed or intended to be con-

veyed in the course of any adviser-client discourse, but is

intended to be general information with respect to common

issues. It is not offered as and does not constitute legal or

medical advice or opinion. It should not serve as a substitute

for advice from an attorney, qualified medical professional,

social worker, therapist or counselor familiar with the facts

of your specific situation. We encourage you in due diligence

to seek additional information and resources before making

any decision. We make no warranty, express or implied,

concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content of this

newsletter due to the constantly changing nature of the legal

and medical aspects of these issues .

Parking or loitering outside the homes of wit-

nesses,

Damaging witnesses’ houses or property,

Threatening witnesses’ children, spouses,

parents, or other family members, killing or

injuring pets, assaulting or even murdering

witnesses or their family members.

Confronting witnesses verbally, Implicit

threats, looks, or gestures

Explicit threats of violence, Actual physical

violence, property damage,

Threats to revoke medical licenses, child cus-

tody or immigration status

Making nuisance phone calls, Sending notes