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'Bad medicine' flier in District 57 race is called misleading
By DAVID KARP, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- The campaign flier shows syringes and a murky photo of doctors hovering over a patient. "Marcos Lorenzo is Bad Medicine," it says. The ad claims Lorenzo, a doctor running for the state House, caused "major injuries" to a patient who trusted him. But that's not how Lorenzo's patient remembers it. Melva Monje, 69, said Lorenzo did not handle a procedure on her gall bladder nearly 20 years ago that is the subject of the attack ad. Another doctor did, she said, and he has since died. Monje couldn't remember much about Lorenzo, who worked with several other doctors at a West Tampa clinic. "It was a long time ago," she said. Her attorney said the ad is unfair. "I can't say anything negative about this doctor at all from that suit," said lawyer James L. Watson. Watson filed a lawsuit in 1983 against Lorenzo, two doctors, a medical clinic and a state entity after he said doctors did not properly diagnose a problem with Monje's gall bladder. It's common in a medical malpractice lawsuit to name every doctor who sees a patient. The lawsuit was settled out of court without an admission of wrongdoing, records show. Lorenzo said he wasn't the physician who diagnosed Monje. He said he treated Monje briefly while filling in for another doctor. Records show that the case is the only medical malpractice claim filed against Lorenzo since he began practicing medicine in 1976. He called the flier "dirty." "They are half truths," he said. The ad came from a Pensacola-based group, Citizens for a Stronger Florida, that has ties to the state's trial lawyers. The group is one of several political committees that have poured money into state races without public oversight since December 1999, when a federal judge overturned a law requiring political action committees to disclose spending and donors. The group operates out of the Pensacola law firm of James F. McKenzie, who sits on the board of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. McKenzie also is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a group of lawyers who have won multimillion verdicts and settlements. McKenzie did not return a call for comment Thursday. The two Republicans running against Lorenzo in Tuesday's primary for state House District 57, which covers south Tampa and Westchase, both criticized the ads. Candidate Faye Culp, who got one of the fliers Wednesday night, called Lorenzo to say she had nothing to do with it. "This is a surprise to me," said Jim Johnson, another candidate. "I am a believer in Reagan's 11th commandment: "Don't speak ill of another Republican." ' -- Times Staff Writer Susan Thurston contributed to this report.
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From the Times Ernest Hooper North of Tampa Marlene Sokol City Times/South Tampa |
