Dr. Thompson Found Guilty on All Counts in L.A. Road Rage Case

sweet justice! now the good doctor will get a whole different kind of being rear ended where he’s going

justice? hopefully.

more important though, is that the system finally found someone guilty of road rage. who knows what kind of sentence he will get, but it doesnt really matter that much. his life will forever be changed by this and hopefully major media outlets will pick this story up and allow motorists to see that if you endanger other road users there is a good chance you will be prosecuted.

i hope the cyclists involved are doing ok and have recovered from their injuries.

It’s people like that doctor that make me sick…

Grendel, one bit of justice that immediately goes into effect will definitely affect his career: He’ll have at least one if not multiple ‘yes’ answers on both his medical licensure and hospital priviledge renewal applications-assuming he’s still practicing.
What that means is that on the questions pertaining to ‘have you ever been convicted of a felony, etc…?’ he will have to answer ‘yes’ even if he serves no jail time or pays any fines. If he answers ‘no’ and the Board finds out about his conviction his licensure and ability to practice in a hospital revoked. If he answers ‘yes’ which he now has to (even if this ruling gets over turned) he has to provide a litany of legal documentation and go before special peer review committees which at the very least is a big hassle and causes a bunch of delays. Usually in a case where bodily harm was committed against someone the committee’s will opt to revoke licensure and hospital privileges.

However, putting all of this into perspective (I’ve worked for a company that credentials MD’s and DO’s all over the US and overseas for 8 years) one would be surprised at how many CA licensed ER (emergency medicine) doctors have DUI’s and yet are still able to maintain their medical license. These DUI’s did not result in any injury or property damage-thus the difference.

Blows me away when I’m credentialing a doctor, particularly an ER doc or a PULM/Critical Care doc who have DUI’s. One would think that having seen all that trauma caused by DUI’s and auto accidents that they would want to avoid that at all costs. The only rationale explanation I’ve ever gotten from them is that they drink due to stress on the job. Go figure.

sunny-1/8/2010-11:33pm
I have longed admired the cyclists who ride our roads. I watch them, they are working really hard and I always think Bravo for the effort and the fun they seem to have. As a driver, I am aware of their vulnerability and give them as much room as possible. After all, what’s the big deal if I slow down for 5 minutes. As a pedestrian, I too, recognize the dangers on the streets and have learned to walk defensively. I think ex-Dr. Thompson got a fair sentence. He could have killed two people and who knows how their injuries will impact them throughout their lives. Let’s hope he has learned his lesson.