News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 12

ACROSS THE COUNTRY 12A NEWS-PRESS, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1998 THE FORECAST Tom Chisholm's local outlook T7T7V sSic uVc. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Partly cloudy 89 70 88 71' 87" 72 86 71" Winds: Winds: Winds: Winds Rain forecast: Rain forecast: Rain forecast: Rain forecast: 20 20 30 30 mm j' -10s -Os Os 10s 20s 30s 40s FRONTS: Cold Warm 0 TV. Chisholm's forecast cart be seen on Fox tides a day, depending on positions Next a.m. The Associated Press Today Partly cloudy 89 69 Winds: Rain forecast: 20 Tom Chisholm is chief meteorologist with Fox WFTX News at 6andW p.m. on cable channel 4.

Tides High tides in bold lace. There are one to four of the Earth, Moon and Sun. Today Englewood Punta Gorda Boca Grande Bokeelia Pineland Matlacha Redfish Pass Captiva St. James City Edison Bridge Cape Coral Punta Rassa Point Ybel Ft Myers Beach Big Carlos Pass Bonita Beach Naples Marco Island Cape Romano Everglades 1 3:1 OUT OF SEASON: LaVerne Unrein watches from his driveway Friday as a pair of tornadoes touch down near Yocemento, Kan. These unusual fall tornados caused damage to about a dozen rural Ellis County homes and destroyed a feed mill at a feedyard.

Tornado, floods hit Texas 5p In the sky NATIONAL TEMPERATURES The Associated Press Thunderstorms brought heavy rain and snow to a wide area ranging from Iowa to Texas on Saturday, with some producing violent winds and hail. Storms in Texas produced a tornado that killed one person and floods that killed three more. The strongest storms spread from eastern Kansas to north-central Texas. Heavy rain brought flash flooding from San On the beach Humiture: 90 Gulf temperature: 82 UV index: 6 Sun Moon Sunday Rises Sets 7:28 a.m. 6:56 p.m.

5:53 a.m. 6:15 p.m. Monday Rises Sets Sun 7:29 a.m. p.m. Moon 6:44 a.m.

6:49 p.m. Moon phases New First Tannin9 index: 7 UV scale 0-2 3-4 5-6 7-9 10 Fair skin 30. min 15-20 min. 10-12 min. 7-8V2 min.

4-6 min. Dark skin Up to.2 hrs. 75-90 min. 50-60 min. 33-40 min.

20-30 min. Boating forecast From Cape Sable to Tarpon Springs TODAY AND TONIGHT: Wjnd NE to 20 knots; seas 5 to 7 feet; bay, inland waters choppy. SATURDAY'S Around Lee County -f- Sat. Today Mon. Sat.

Today Mon. Hito HiLoSky HiLoSky HiLo HlLoSky HiLoSky Albany.N.Y. 6036 7749c 6752c Juneau 4640 4944r 5146r Albuquerque 5737 6733f 6640f Kansas City 6861 64461 6343f 'Amarillo 6650 6635f 6438c Knoxville 7849 7849c 7453c Anchorage 3734 4131r 4538r Las Vegas 7056 77471 81521 Asheville 7342 7546c 7453c Little Rock 8071 7566r 6953f Atlanta 7753 7854c 7856c Los Angeles 7956 82561 80571 Atlantic City 6842 7553t 7358f Louisville 8260 7661c 6948f Austin 7776 7570r 7060r Memphis 8465 7465c 7056c Baltimore 7038 7945f 7451f Milwaukee 6963 6361f 62437c Billings 5539 5438c 5735C Mpls-St Paul 7160 5642c 5337c Birmingham 8158 8158c 7857c Nashville 8256 7559c 7055c Bismarck 4439 5532c 5629c New Orleans 8474 8571c 8169c Boise 5728 5730f 6232f New York City 6552 7556c 7061c Boston 5944 7654f 7057c Norfolk.Va. 6747 7850f 7857c Buffalo 7646 7259c 6051c Oklahoma City 7666 7047f 6844c Burlington.Vt. 6236 7553c 6255c Omaha 6764 6139f 5942c Charleston.S.C 7757 8058f 8361c Philadelphia 6947 78501 7358f Charleston.W.Va.

8043 7950c 6954f Phoenix 8054 85551 86581 Charlotte.N.C. 7445 7850f 7955C Pittsburgh 7643 7755c 6450c Cheyenne 4334 5930f 5330c Portland.Maine 6139 7544c 6555c Chicago 6866 6160c 6342c Portland.Ore. 5443 6243c 67401 Cincinnati 7858 7261r 6243c Providence 6040 7548f 7058c Cleveland 7752 7056c 6348c Raleigh-Durham 7642 78481 8053c Columbia.S.C. 7747 8049f 8353c Reno 6030 6529f 6932f Columbus.Ohio 7950 7258r 6243c Richmond 7243 7944f 7955f Concord.N.H. 6430 7742c 6652c Rochester 6840 7553c 6151pc Dallas-Ft Worth 7773 7459c 7156c.

Sacramento 7545 7946f 8248f Dayton 7755 7060r 6040c St Louis 7766 6858c 6945c Denver 5034 6228f 5632c Salt Lake City 5442 59331 6235f Des Moines 6961 5747c 5738f San Antonio 7774 7570r 7260r Detroit 7759 6860r 5846c San Diego 7757 7656f 7457f Duluth 6855 4942c 4435c San Francisco 7354 7651f 7752f El Paso 7358 7140c 7047c Santa Fe 5526 6226f 6136f Evansville 8064 6964r 6644c St Ste Marie 7055 5855r 4837c Fairbanks 3229 3520c 3220sn Seattle 5450 5843c 6238f Fargo 4344 5433c 5228c Shreveport 8171 7772r 7160r Flagstaff 5218 6322f 6125f Sioux Falls 5653 5533C 4832c Fort Wayne 7763 64601 6240pc Spokane 5433 5133f 5431f Grand Rapids 7263 6260r 5543r Syracuse 6238 7751c 6253c Greensboro.N.C. 7444 7847f 7856c Toledo 7860 6954c 65451 Harrisburg 7041' 7648c 6953pc Topeka 7565 6443f 5940c Hartford Spgfld 6035 7647f 6854c Tucson 7646 8545f 8655f Helena 5321 5234c 5530c Tulsa 7773 6650f 6543c Honolulu 8576 7487c 7387c Washington.D.C. 7147, 8048! 75561 Houston 8677 8374r 7865r Wichita 7366 6845f 5841f Indianapolis 7960 6761f 6340c Wilkes-Barre 6837 7548c 6552c Jackson.Miss. 8658 8361c 7960c 9 Wilmington.Del. 6842 77481 7357f SATURDAY'S Florida Tallahassee .86766 Pensacola 82769 FORT MYERS CAPE CORAL 89767 Key west World Tamno 82770 Bonita Cape Fort Myers Lehigh Fort Springs Coral Beach Acres Myers High 89 88 89 88" 89 Low 68 68 67 68 67 Rainfall 0.0" ,0.0" 0.0" 0.0" 0.0" Full Last 0 CD Oct.

20 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 Nov. 10 WEATHER October Average 2.94" Total 0.29" Year to date an ioiai 59.08" -Litd- cn Average -tC. 49.39" 40 -20 -10 -6 Rainfall almanac Rainfall at Page Field: None as of 5 p.m.

Relative humidity: 93 at 7 a.m., 46 at 1 p.m. Highest sustained wind: 20 mph (E) Lake Okeechobee: 15.96 feet 50s 60s 70s 60s 90s 100s 110s A Stationary nation's low: Stanley, Idaho Insurance companies are required to report any settlements paid on behalf of doctors, said Bill Bodiford, an actuarial analyst for the state Department of Insurance. The site also tracks lawsuits settled on behalf of dentists, lawyers and other professionals, as well as hospitals. Doctors not on the list have never had a claim 'against them, but that doesn't mean they haven't been sued, he said. The reporting requirement came about in the early 1970s at a time when there was a crisis in medical malpractice and doctors were having trouble getting insurance.

By recording the claims, people could look to see who was generating the most costs. Just because there's been a settlement doesn't necessarily mean a doctor has done something terribly vrong, Bodiford said. The company has the option and it's cheaper to settle a case sometimes, he said. "They (doctors) don't get to decide, although it's their insurance and they pay for it," Bodiford said. in auuuion, insurance companies settle what they view as nuisance 3 value claims, not worth spending the money to defend.

Examples include six Lee lawsuits that produced settlements under $1,000, such as a $48 settlement for tooth damage, and $750 for burning a patient's arm when taking off a cast. "That doesn't tell me a doctor did a damn thing wrong," said Fort Myers attorney John Cechman, who is currently reviewing a case that could involve malpractice, Overall, however, he said the major settlements can be viewed as a gauge. "That information certainly is helpful to a certain extent," he said. NiLoSky HiLoSky HiLo Amsterdam 6157r Mexico City 7359c Calgary 6127 Athens 7354f Moscow 5239pc Montreal 6139 Auckland 6150r Nassau 8672r Ottawa 5941 Barcelona 75571 Osaka 7268r Toronto 6345 Beijing 6445f Oslo NA Vancouver 5548 Berlin 5545pc Paris 6355c Winnipeg 4139 Bermuda 7772pc Rio 8675c Bogota 7248pc Rome 7754pc 1 Cairo 8168f San Juan 9077pc Ul JCtfl Dhahran 9768pc Seoul 7541 Mym Hong Kong 8475f Stockholm msng High 89 low 69 Jerusalem 7555pc Sydney 7255pc Record for the day ml High 92 set in 1990 London 5750c Zurich 6452pc Low 51 set in 1977 '98 '97 Avg. Rec.

Yr. January 2.85 1.57 1.84 7.95 '91 February 8.47 1.55 1.24 10.82 '83 March 5.02 1.46 3.07 18.58 '70 April 1.21 4.84 1.06 7.66 '41 May 2.56 4.68 3.87 10.32 '68 June 6.52 6.97 9.52 20.10 '74 July 10.01 12.25 8.26 15.28 '41 August 8.43 5.27 9.66 16.73 '81 September 13.59 8.39 7.82 16.60 '69 October 0.29 0.98 2.94 12.04 '59 November 0.00 3.76 1.57 8.06 '87 December 0.00 5,48 1.54 5.48 '97 ccloudy; flair; flflurries; fgfog; hhazy; pcpartly cloudy; rrain; rsrain snow; shshowers; snsnow; tthunderstorms; wwindy. Airport hub cities in bold nation's high: Lajitas, Texas Antonio to Austin. The tornado hit near Corsicana, where a mobile home was destroyed, leaving one resident dead. Scattered showers and less severe thunderstorms were reported in northern Indiana and Michigan.

Some rain and snow fell in the Dakotas, Wyoming and northern Colorado. Mostly fair skies prevailed from the West Coast to the Rockies. TEMPERATURES Gainesville Jacksonville 85768 81764 Orlando I Vero Beach 84775" W. Palm Beach mm- QQ7T0 UU III Lr Miami 87777 Canada James Walters SPECIALTY: Radiologist CASE: A 62-year-old man sought treatment for throat cancer. Walters read the CT scan of head and neck as normal.

Patient ultimately was diagnosed with a sinus tumor and later died. i SETTLEMENT: $1.13 million Hunter Leake III SPECIALTY: Pediatrician CASE: A 2-day-old baby was released from Cape Coral Hospital with an elevated level of red bile, and no follow-up testing was ordered. 1 Failure to monitor it resulted in high levels and the baby suffered I permanent, significant injuries. 1 SETTLEMENT: $1.5 million Michael Raymond SPECIALTY: Oncologist CASE: A 33-year-old man suffered a brain hemorrhage after an operation at Southwest Florida -Regional Medical Center. As a result of medication, the patient allegedly suffered blindness, bladder impotence and organic personality disorder with dementia.

SETTLEMENT: $1 million Children's Centre doctors DOCTORS: Pediatricians Hunter Leake III, Thomas Seitz, Edwin Guttery and John Bartlett CASE: A baby diagnosed with failure to thrive was given an oral polio vaccine. The baby later was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency disease and developed polioencephalitis, which caused permanent injuries. SETTLEMENT: $6.4 million; $1 million on behalf of each doctor, $2 million on behalf of the practice SOURCE: Florida Department of Insurance Local COSTLY SETTLEMENTS Site had 684,000 visits in first year DOCTORS: From Page 1A "Making this information available on-line enables consumers to make informed decisions about their doctor and other professionals," Nelson ad. i The Web site attracted more than 684,000 visits in its first year, which ended in August. That number states the obvious, Nelson said: People want the information.

Many say that information is critical for patients before making their next doctor's appointment. But others warn the reports don't always mean a doctor is bad and Shouldn't be the only factor in the decision. The Florida Medical Association also cautioned that settling malpractice claims doesn't necessarily mean the doctor was negligent. Suit doesn't tell whole story Doctors often have little control overvnether the insurance company paysio settle a suit. Sometimes a settlement is reached because it is cheaper than a court battle.

"Does it make me a bad doctor? I don't think so," said urologist Dr. Paul Bretton, who had a $1 million settlement claim listed on the Web site but compared that to the 5,000 patients he sees a year. "It's one of the consequences. There is some risk involved in what we do." Dr. Lawrence Schoenfeld, another Lee County urologist, agreed.

"Doctors are fallible," said Schoenfeld, who shows up on the Web site in a $1 million settlement. "We make our mistakes, and we pay for those mistakes with lawsuits. Both doctors suggested that busy doctors mean better doctors, in general, and the busier they are, the he 1 Some costly Lee County settlements from the past decade: Thomas George Presbrey SPECIALTY: Radiologist CASE: A 43-year-old man had a pain in his left side. Diagnosis: kidney stone. A year later tests show kidney cancer that had spread to the lungs.

The patient died. SETTLEMENT: $2 million Lawrence Schoenfeld SPECIALTY: Urologist CASE: Same as above. He was called in as a consultant and concurred with diagnosis. SETTLEMENT: $1 million Richard Hendra SPECIALTY: Radiologist CASE: A 39-year-old man had middle ear and mastoid disease. Hendra read a CT scan of the brainhead as showing a "vague area of low density" in the back part of the head.

An autopsy revealed a brain lesion. The patient died. The patient's attorney alleged Hendra failed to properly interpret the results. SETTLEMENT: $1 million Paul Bretton SPECIALTY: Urologist CASE: A 40-year-old woman had a urinary tract infection and went to the emergency room at Lee Memorial Hospital. Bretton allegedly failed to timely diagnose and treat poisoning when she came to the hospital with severe abdominal pain, two days after a urinary tract exam.

When she was admitted, it was alleged Bretton failed to properly hydrate the patient and ensure she received proper antibiotics. She died. SETTLEMENT: $1 million more chances there are for lawsuits. As the information becomes more readily available, Schoenfeld said he does expect his patients to question him about it. It hasn't happened yet, said.

But Fort Myers resident Alyce Levine said she plans to ask more questions and find out more about the doctors she uses for her routine checkups. "I have a calendar full of doctors' appointments," said Levine, 69. She doesn't have a computer, but her children do. "I'll have them look it up," she said. "1 think it's something everybody should know." Elizabeth Wright, director of the health and science division for Citizens Against Government Waste, based in Washington D.C., said the site helps with her crusade to have better informed patients.

"Probably more people know about the car they buy than they know about some of the doctors they go to," she said. "1 certainly would like to know if my surgeon has a problem before I go in for surgery." Doctors fear the information could lead to losing patients. "We do have that concern that it may be misunderstood, misconstrued or misapplied," said David Reardon, president of the Lee County Medical Society. Good and bad on the site There are about 1,400 licensed physicians in Southwest Florida and about 250 of them show up on the Web site. "Despite the pitfalls and negatives, think probably disclosing it in an appropriate way is better than saying you don't have any right to get this information," said Reardon, a "Keep in mind that's one piece of information," he said.

"They shouldn't base a decision on that one piece of information." Reardon said that while the public is demanding the information, the medical community wants it presented in a truthful and balanced way. All the doctors were encouraged to review the information to make sure it's accurate, he said. The consumer should also be made aware of the positive information, such as physicians' training, board certifications, memberships in professional societies, he said. "What we don't want is it to become one-sided and slanted," he said. The doctors have an unlikely ally in Fort Myers attorney Jay Meisenberg, a malpractice attorney, who said the Web site "also creates a false sense that people are being more protected than they truly are.

"It doesn't necessarily mean all bad doctors are going to be there," he said. "Frankly, it can include good doctors." But he did concede: "Some of them belong there." 2,000 complaints a year Meisenberg said he'd prefer, the Agency for Healthcare Administration took more action when it comes to whether a physician is fit to practice. The agency regulates physicians and other medical professionals in Florida. The state averages about 2,000 complaints a year against doctors. But they are overwhelmed and underbudgeted, he said.

Some steps that could be more valuable: requiring doctors to report their unfit colleagues. More often than not, they don't and won't testify against another doctor, he said. IIS Black Book Value! i Hf No Matter What The Value Of Your Trade 'SSfjl nnSTwrKr Sam's Wholesale Automart Calloway Ford MMp CHSHHISSSn IJJJinffi colonial boulevard ft myers Sed Cm Gives You $2000 More! CZmA L.J I I 1800 boy scout DRIVE.C0RNER0FB0YSC0UTandSUMMM if I.