Michael Fishbein forced me to settle a medical malpractice case against a defendant whom the Pa. Superior Court called a perjurer stating."We have little difficulty in concluding that Dr. Jannetta's testimony at deposition was different than, or inconsistent with, the testimony at trial." Levy v Jannetta, CCP Allegheny County, GD 81-7689; appeal -J. A370017/92 Levy v Jannetta et al, No. 00150 Pittsburgh, 1992. settled, 1995.
He took my medical malpractice case for appeal from a lower court non suiting. This case involved a surgery named after the defendant and from which I emerged with a 100% facial paralysis on the operated side as well as so much damage from the operation that the next surgeon was unable to do his surgery - leaving me with no way out of permanent disability and pain.
He, and his associate Robert Unterberger, although the contract was between Fishbein and I, did no depositions, interrogatories, etc. I was evaluated only be a vocational rehabilitation expert. They got the wrong neurosurgical witness, pediatric for an adult surgery who never saw or spoke with me. The ophthalmic expert was my local ophthalmologist who also was not prepped.. (Unterberger said he would do it during the trial. As I guess he would have done me and the neurosurgeon.) Neither Fishbein nor Unterberger spoke with or retained a facial nerve specialist, a major component of the case; for sustained damages as well as showing that a defensive pre surgical test showed that Dr. Jannetta's surgery had a high probability of paralyzing the face. They did no witness prep, including of me.
Unterberger picked a jury on a Friday afternoon. He was in Pittsburgh and told me I didn't need to come up til the weekend for prep.
He called me 7 times in a 2 1/2 hour period that Friday evening and each time with a lower settlement number, so low, from the start there was no way it would cover lifelong medical expenses or for the disfigurement and disability.
By the 7th call I was crying and told him to just get rid of it. The following Monday I called Fishbein and told him what happened and I did not accept settlement. He told me I had no choice (which I found out a long time later was not the truth).
Strangely enough, 3 weeks after this forced settlement, in a case that had been in the courts for 14 (yes fourteen) years, Dr. Jannetta was named Pa. Sec't of Health nominee by Gov, Ridge.
This case went to fee dispute where I received a (small) additional amount but fee dispute then wrote they did not find against Fishbein so he has no record of fee dispute going against him.
I asked him 2 mths before trial why he did not seem to be acting as my advocate. He replied, which he has since denied saying, "After 20 years you lose your zest for it." At that point it was too late to find another attorney.
After 2 years later, after statute of limitations over, I found out the zest he lost was only for my case evidently as, during the same period of time, he was lead counsel for diet drug Phen-fen case for which he won a 54 million dollar verdict. (Despite his being quoted as saying some of the claimants had no damage.)
He was lazy and betrayed my trust.
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