Dear Dumbass,
Yes, you heard me right. You’re doing a bang up job of furthering the stereotype that lawyers are a bunch of self-absorbed twits, which you most certainly are.
You knew you had tuberculosis before you left the country. What on earth would ever, EVER make you think that traveling was an acceptable course of action? It’s freakin’ tuberculosis, you moron. This is not like getting on a plane with touch of a head cold. Just because you “felt fine” doesn’t mean YOU’RE NOT SICK OR CONTAGIOUS.
Of course, I really love the fact that when you found out it was a drug resistant strain that you decided to take it mildly seriously - and yet again ignored orders NOT to travel and got on another long haul flight. Brilliant. Sure, you said it was because you were afraid you wouldn’t survive if you didn’t get home right away, but why is your health and well being more important than anyone else’s? A simple phone call to the embassy in Rome could have gotten the ball rolling on getting you back to the US without putting more people in harm’s way.
The folks on the news were pondering whether or not your father-in-law (who works with TB at the Centers for Disease Control) should somehow be brought into the inquiry - right now I’m sure he’s just beating his head into the wall over the fact that his daughter married such an idiot - punishment enough I think.
I caught a statement you made on the news earlier this evening that shows that you still don’t get it. You’re complaining about the fact that you are under quarantine with an armed guard. Frankly, the way you’ve acted so far, I think it’s probably the only thing that is keeping you from showing up at the Starbucks in downtown Denver.
I would think that as a personal injury lawyer you would really understand the concept of gross negligence, but apparently not. Frankly, if I was one of the folks you exposed to this, I’d be standing outside your hospital room so I could be the first to pop you in the mouth when they let you out.
I’d like to think that maybe you’ve learned something from this whole debacle, but I am guessing you’ll just find someone else to blame and sue them.
May 31st, 2007 - 7:43 pm
You missed the big one. How in the world did this guy get a phone call from the CDC in Rome, if he was not suppose to fly? Ping. His father-in-law is directly involved… all bets point that way. How else would they reach him unless he has an international phone for usage. I surmise his dear father-in-law used his power to treat this patient DIFFERENTLY than any other poor kid from Africa.
May 31st, 2007 - 7:58 pm
I’m not sure FIL would have had power over his treatment, I still think the guy just decided that just because he felt fine, the rules didn’t apply to him. Any family member could have provided the contact info to get to him in Rome.
May 31st, 2007 - 9:32 pm
The other thing that annoyed me about this story was the fact that health officials only chose to contact the people who were seated next to the guy and not every single person who was on that flight and the other flights he took going to and within Europe.
Now, they say that the chance of someone contracting TB from him when he wasn’t outwardly showing signs (coughing etc) is very low, and the amount of TB virus in his body was low during his trip. Fair enough. But what if the guy walked around the plane a bit to stretch his legs? What if someone else did exactly the same thing? What if someone passed his seat while on the way to the bathroom?
Drug resistant TB is extremely serious. If I had been on that flight but not among those who sat near the guy, I’d still want a phonecall to warn me that my risk is almost none, but to go get tested just in case!
May 31st, 2007 - 9:37 pm
If I was on either of those flights, I would definitely be at the docs office getting at TB test - I’m surprised, too that they didn’t contact everyone - I can only think they figured that people on the flights would find out and tend to it themselves…
May 31st, 2007 - 10:38 pm
We have had some TB issues down here with workers in a Mexican food place and a Ice Cream place. They setup a clinic for all of the customers to go to if they wanted to.
Thanks for keeping me in the loop on this latest loser. He really should have known better.
May 31st, 2007 - 10:42 pm
He really should have known better.
Really, I just do not at ALL understand why anyone would think it’s a good idea to travel when you’ve been diagnosed with TB.