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Fort Wayne Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer and Attorney Blog

When “Peer Review” Has Ulterior Motives

A judge upheld a jury’s initial decision against the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons for biased decisions against a doctor for testifying against another surgeon. Steven Graboff is a surgeon who belonged to the AAOS and was suspended for 2 yrs for testifying against an AAOS board member. AAOS has peer reviews for members testifying against other members. They feel like they should get final approval of testimony. If they disagree with a doctor, they can take member accreditation in the AAOS away- in essence destroying the ability of the doctor to then practice. The judge’s review felt that the removal of a doctor from the organization gave the AAOS too much power. The jury had found previously that the AAOS review system was biased in several ways.