Last year I mourned the loss of Dr. Flea, the outspoken pediatrician whose blog always got a rise out of me. I agreed with him about vaccinations; disagreed about medicating children, and was pretty shocked when he started live-blogging a malpractice trial he was in the middle of. In a classic Perry Mason moment, Dr. Flea was unmasked while on the stand testifying at that trial, causing him to shut down his blog — a real loss for the medical blogosphere.

He has now emerged long enough to do an email interview with Eric Turkewitz at the New York Personal Injury Law Blog. Some interesting excerpts:

On his reasons for blogging the trial:

I felt as though this story, and the story of malpractice litigation in general, is one that ordinary folks have never heard and doctors are reluctant to tell. I believed that the anonymity would shield me. I know what you’re saying to yourself now. Like I said, I was under a tremendous amount of stress. I’ve been told that stressed-out people do dumb things from time to time.

On reactions in the blogosphere:

I read some perfectly horrendous things said about me, but honestly, I wouldn’t characterize any of it as unfair. Nasty? Brutal? Sure. But not unfair. What’s unfair in the blogosphere? I’m sure there’s stuff I haven’t read, but I’d rather not look.

On Malpractice and Regrets

I regret that five-hundred years of the rule of law and trial by jury have left us with this enormity that you call malpractice litigation. Is this really the best we can do?

On the blogosphere

The blogosphere is the true marketplace of ideas. Long may she reign.

On blogging again

Almost every day I see something or read something that makes me absolutely want to howl. I almost immediately compose a blog post in my head. And there it remains. Why? Because if I ever blog again my wife will kill me. Then she’ll divorce me. And I’m obviously not the smartest physician in the world, but I ain’t that dumb.

Great interview — go read the whole thing.

H/T: Kevin, MD

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