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Plastic Surgeon Gets a Year For Third DUI

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:47:25 AM EST
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Remember Dr. Jan Adams, the plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye West's mother the day before she died?

Adams was sentenced to a year in jail yesterday following his guilty plea to misdemeanor drunk driving. Why so much time? It was his third D.U.I. and he was still on probation for one of them when he caught the last one. (Medical examiner board complaint here (pdf.) Despite the board's recommendation that his license be suspended due to the alcohol offenses, it appears when his license was suspended this June, it was for failure to pay child support. His ex-wife got a restraining order against him alleging spousal abuse.

Adams asked to begin serving the sentence immediately.

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    Plastic Surgeon Gets a Year For Third DUI | 44 comments (44 topical)

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    and the AMA (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 02:58:26 AM EST
    wonders why it's members get sued for malpractice?

    this guy should be off the streets, and nowhere near an operating room, unless it's to take out the trash.

    Speaking of trash (none / 0) (#3)
    by shoephone on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 03:06:56 AM EST
    My previous landlord (who just happens to be an infamous slumlord around these parts) is also a very successful medical malpractice defense attorney. He has helped some real losers get off scott-free.

    Trash attracts trash.

    Parent

    I've known a few DUI guys (none / 0) (#2)
    by shoephone on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 03:02:37 AM EST
    and they have all been repeat offenders. One of them (an ex-boss) had six DUIs before having his license suspended!

    In the past five years, two older friends of mine have each suffered the loss of a grandchild, due to drunk drivers. Their pain is immense, and it goes on forever.

    As far as I'm concerned, this doctor can rot in jail. No one should be allowed to receive more than two DUIs without having their driver's license yanked and their butts parked in jail.

    What a nice guy! (none / 0) (#4)
    by Fabian on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 04:42:18 AM EST
    Not.

    A cosmetic surgeon who doesn't pay his child support?  No sympathy here.

    He certainly sounds like a real winner... (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 08:30:36 AM EST
    but a year in a cage is no joke.

    If I were king I'd get all the back child support from him, with interest, revoke his medical and drivers licenses, and say 3 months in cage...that should do the trick.  

    We simply can't afford to feed and house every a-hole in our dungeons to send messages and get vengeance...we can deter without becoming cruel and inhumane ourselves, or at least try.

    Our system (none / 0) (#8)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:27:05 AM EST
    is based on hanging vs color TV and excercise rooms.

    We need fewer crimeS and harsher punishment.

    Parent

    Fewer crimes definitely.... (none / 0) (#13)
    by kdog on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:52:02 AM EST
    Not sure if punsihments can get much harsher though...we're all well aware of the obscene prison population we're rocking in this country.

    Parent
    Sounds like there is some serious drug ab (none / 0) (#6)
    by samtaylor2 on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 09:31:39 AM EST
    Abuse going on.  Hopefully a year in prison can clean him up.  It is to bad that, assuming he can clean himself up, he won't be able to practice medicine again.

    Alcoholism is a disease (none / 0) (#7)
    by Mark Woods on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 09:41:32 AM EST
    and the people who have this disease need treatment, if they are willing to get it.

    Because the disease of addiction is so cunning, people with this diease often need to reach a rock bottom before they finally wake up and get help.

    This doctor is still responsible for the wrongs he has done, but he is also a human being with a disease.

    So it seems to me that the rightgeous anger against him needs to be balanced with the reality that as sam mentioned, sometines it takes jail or other terrible consequences before addicts having the 'willingness' to seek help.

    Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step recovery programs are among various successful ways for people like this doctor to recover and make amends for their wrongs done, while drunk or high.

    Anyone needing help can find AA is the telephone book.  

    I like this quote: There, but for the grace of God, go I.

    Mark write's good words: (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:33:28 AM EST
     
    sometines it takes jail or other terrible consequences before addicts having the 'willingness' to seek help.

    The question becomes, why should an innocent person suffer the pain often caused by an addicted person?

    Parent

    rats.... "Mark's good words are." (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:36:24 AM EST
    Use the preview and still screw up..

    Parent
    Even if they never kill anyone (none / 0) (#30)
    by sallywally on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 06:59:37 PM EST
    on the highway - or in surgery, as Adams did - addicts cause untold pain and lifelong debility for many of the people with whom they are involved.

    Parent
    Exactly (none / 0) (#31)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:22:52 PM EST
    Yet why do we give them sympathy? And cheer when/if they do the right thing?

    I have seen what the DUI/doped up killer can do. May God forgive them because I cannot.

    Parent

    For the life of me... (none / 0) (#39)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 09:51:44 AM EST
    I'll never understand the distinction between a killer under the influence and a sober killer....both are unacceptable and should be treated exactly the same.  Personal responsibility and all.

    As someone nearly killed by a stone cold sober driver, his sobreity was no consolation...reckless is reckless, regardless of the cause of the recklessness, be it intoxication or simple uncaring stupidity.

    Parent

    I don't know that anyone is (none / 0) (#11)
    by Anne on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:38:39 AM EST
    excoriating the doctor because he might be an alcoholic; rather, I think the criticism is for his actions, and the concern that whether he is behind the wheel, or performing surgery, his decision to drink has the potential to affect more lives than just his own.  That he is a repeat offender, that he did not learn from the initial experience, and the time between incidents was growing shorter, should have suggested that this man had a problem with alcohol that needed to be addressed by the Medical Board, regardless of how the doctor fared in the legal system.

    While it is true that there has to be a recognition by the individual that he or she has a problem, and then a desire to do something about that problem in order for there to be good chances for recovery, it is also true that most people do not get to that point all by themselves.  Most have to experience the negative consequences of their actions first, whether it is divorce, estrangement from family and friends, financial or legal problems or job-related problems.

    Both the legal system and the California Medical Board were in the position of helping Dr. Adams get the help he needs by making a recovery program a condition for getting his driver's license back or keeping his medical license - and that didn't happen.

    It's not Adams' "fault" that he probably has a disease that needs treatment, and it's not his fault that the disease clouds his judgment, but in the event that the disease is working to prevent him from taking the steps he should to recover, it is incumbent upon both the legal system and the medical board to not just punish him for his actions, but help him get started on getting the help he needs to break the pattern.  And if he resists, or refuses, to do the only thing left: segregate him from the society he endangers by his actions.


    Parent

    Anne, I usually agree 100% with your posts... (none / 0) (#18)
    by vml68 on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:45:28 AM EST
    but to say that it is not Adams' "fault" that he has a disease that needs treatment or not his "fault" that it clouds his judgement is IMO a bit of a stretch.
    I think as a society we have become too willing to pass on personal responsibility. As a surgeon, I am assuming that Adams is quite intelligent (which says nothing about his common sense or lack thereof) and obviously well educated. He of all people should be well aware of the consequences of alcoholism. The choice to drink is his and his alone and as such entirely his "fault".

    Parent
    I don't expect to change any (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by Anne on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:47:49 PM EST
    minds here - and I won't declare that you are wrong to believe what you believe - I just come at this from the perspective of having seen it up close.  My dad, who is now deceased, was an alcoholic who got sober and stayed that way for some 25 years.  My brother is a recovering alcoholic, sober for 30 years; he had a problem with drugs, too, something that has been harder for him to manage - management of the pain associated with a recent motorcycle accident and multiple surgeries was tricky, to say the least.  He's also a smoker and hooked on his coffee, and despite numerous attempts to quit smoking, nothing he has done has ever worked.  Is his addictive personality just a function of choice and will?  Good question.

    I suppose where I come from on the blame and fault issue is that I don't understand how it helps someone get better to blame them for having the disease in the first place.  I can assign blame to someone for choosing to drive or perform surgery and that choice resulting in harm to someone, and I think accountability cannot be avoided on the basis that someone is an alcoholic - we should punish the action, but treat the problem.  Hold Adams accountable for his actions, but get him some help.  If he won't get help, he suffers the next level of accountability, even if that means confining him.

    Parent

    Didn't the medical profession (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 06:24:24 PM EST
    actually isolate a gene that is responsible for addictions?  I thought that a person could take a genetics test to see if they would be highly likely to become an alcoholic, and that when the gene is found, the person is best off when they make the decision to never even try alcohol.

    I've also heard that an addictive-prone person can give up one addiction but they are highly likely to replace it with another unless they treat the root cause of the first one. Ask any reformed smoker what "habit" they have picked up since they quit. Most I know went for food or exercise.


    Parent

    heh (none / 0) (#32)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:50:20 PM EST
    The "reformed" smoker who takes up food does so because it tastes much, much better with his repaired taste buds. If the smoker takes up exercise it is to get rid of the pounds food brings and because he/she feels so much better.

    I speak as someone who smoked for years and years and years.

    I believe the "addictive personality" is mostly psycho babble that too many lean on.

    Parent

    I agree it is a matter of perspective. (none / 0) (#26)
    by vml68 on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 01:23:13 PM EST
    My dad has diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was a very heavy drinker and smoker. About 20 years ago his doctor told him that he had to quit or he would not be around too long. He gave up the cigarettes not the alcohol. He is in his 60's now and can go for months without alcohol. But if he is hanging out with his friends or at a party, he has no control. He still has the mentality that you've got to have alcohol for a party to be fun. And he is not content with being the only one drunk, he makes sure that everyone there is just as high as he is. So I see it more as a conditioned response or choice.

    Parent
    Can someone tell me why (none / 0) (#12)
    by vml68 on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:40:15 AM EST
    we call alcoholism a disease as opposed to an addiction. I have never heard drug addiction or addiction to nicotine called a disease. Just curious.

    Parent
    Just as there are those who take the (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by Anne on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:59:48 AM EST
    position that alcoholism is not a disease, there are those who take the same position with respect to drug addiction.

    Here's a link you might find helpful, along with this NIDA publication that may also help, or at least convince you that the disease concept does exist.

    A snip from the first link:

    Is drug addiction a disease?

    Yes. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that affects the brain and causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences.

    How is addiction a disease?

    Addiction is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain--in structure and in function.  It's true that for most people, the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary. Over time, however, drug abuse can cause changes to the brain that erode a person's self control and ability to make sound decisions, while sending intense impulses to take drugs.

    What is its course?

    Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease--like diabetes, asthma, or heart disease--and it can be managed successfully. Treatment helps people to counteract addiction's powerful disruptive effects and regain control of their lives. And just as with other chronic diseases, relapses are not uncommon. But relapse does not signal failure--rather, it indicates that treatment should be reinstated or adjusted to help the addict fully recover.

    For what it's worth...

    Parent

    Good link, Anne, thanks. (none / 0) (#21)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:10:25 PM EST
    I am a reformed smoker-- again. Quit for seven years, then began again five months ago. Quit again a  few days ago, and hoping it sticks for another seven years.

    The drug? Nicotine. It's insidious poison to me, yet in times of stress, it's what I want.

    I had surgery about 7 years ago, maybe 8, and was on a morphine drip. When they stopped, the pain was excruciating. I was on oxycodone afterwards, and didn't even finish the prescription. No big joy from either the morphine or the pills.

    But nicotine? those alkalines, nicotine and caffiene, they have me.

    what's the difference? i think, deep down, that because they are legal, people look at them differently. Also, they don't impair your ability to drive, perhaps...

    Addiction is a disease, and disease treatment works for these, if it is holistic.

    Parent

    just curious (none / 0) (#33)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:52:41 PM EST
    Are you involved in anyway in any treatment "program" of any kind??

    Parent
    Guess you didn't read all my comments, as (none / 0) (#37)
    by Anne on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 06:49:56 AM EST
    if you had, you would have seen this:
    I just come at this from the perspective of having seen it up close.  My dad, who is now deceased, was an alcoholic who got sober and stayed that way for some 25 years.  My brother is a recovering alcoholic, sober for 30 years; he had a problem with drugs, too, something that has been harder for him to manage - management of the pain associated with a recent motorcycle accident and multiple surgeries was tricky, to say the least.  He's also a smoker and hooked on his coffee, and despite numerous attempts to quit smoking, nothing he has done has ever worked.  Is his addictive personality just a function of choice and will?  Good question.

    So, no, I'm not in any kind of program, just have been close to the problem, and have done a lot of reading and research about it over the years.


    Parent
    Thank you and no (none / 0) (#38)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 09:48:29 AM EST
    that doesn't answer my question. It tells me about your father. You also could have been, or not been, associated.

    Parent
    Well, let me put it to you this way... (none / 0) (#41)
    by Anne on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 10:10:35 AM EST
    as a pre-teen, and before my dad got sober, I went to a few AA-associated meetings, but that was - gulp! - over 40 years ago.  I didn't go to any meetings when my brother was spiraling out of control, which wasn't too many years after my dad got sober.

    I mainly had the experience of growing up in a home where alcoholism affected me as a daughter and as a sister - both while the drinking was active, and also when it wasn't; there's more to getting sober than not drinking, and more to healing than just putting something behind you.

    And like probably anyone who has a genetic link to people affected by any disease, I've probably been more focused and more aware of behaviors and warning signs and such ever since.  It's an experience that makes you realize that there is nothing simple or easy-to-explain about alcoholism - calling it a disease doesn't "cure" it anymore than calling cancer a disease makes it go away.  It determines, probably, an approach, but it sure doesn't fix it.

    Parent

    Thank you again (none / 0) (#42)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 01:54:27 PM EST
    My question was prompted because it appeared that you were/are pro addiction as a disease, and treatment of it as a disease.

    I am for treatment, but giving the person who is addicted another excuse by calling it a disease strikes me as wrong.

    I also note this:


    Is alcoholism inherited? There is some evidence that it could be, but science has yet to find the direct genetic link. Find out more about the genetic components of alcohol dependence and alcoholism.

    Link


    Parent

    I think you're a little caught in a trap (none / 0) (#43)
    by Anne on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 02:20:24 PM EST
    of your own making.  You say you believe in treatment, but you don't want to call what is being treated a disease.  So, what is it?  Is it the old "lack of willpower?"  Is it "weakness?"  If it's not a disease, what is it you're treating?  The addiction?  Well, I think you're back to sorting out why some people develop an addiction and others do not.  You might as well reject the concept of mental illness as an illness or disease, too - that people who are depressed just need to snap out of it, for example.  I think it is far more likely that those with mental illness are "excused" from the consequences of their actions than are people with alcoholism - so what's the deal there?

    Categorizing alcoholism as a disease does not excuse anyone from the consequences of their alcoholism.  Does it mean that you might have the opportunity to get help for yourself before your employer fires you for job performance that has been affected by alcohol?  It might, but that doesn't mean your employer has to keep you on the job if you refuse to get that help.

    I mean, what's the goal here?  Just to punish and never to help?  I'm sorry, but that's a little too Dark Ages for me, and given the consequences of alcoholism that ripple through families and the workplace and society in general, it just makes no sense to me.

    As for the genetic aspect, I suspect those who see it in multiple members of their families, through generations, are a tad skeptical that not having identified a specific genetic component means there is none.


    Parent

    The problem is (none / 0) (#44)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 03:48:57 PM EST
    we have no solid evidence that it is a disease. And I don't think that believing in treatment but with that caveat is any kind of a trap. And having placed two employees into a company paid program that did save their jobs I am quite familiar with the good that it can do.

    But yes, I think calling it a disease does give some addicted persons an excuse to not accept responsibility. Note that I specify the individuals. I am not suggesting that calling it a disease would prompt society as a whole to excuse them.

    What is an addiction? I think it is a compulsion. What triggers it I don't know. I have seen people who could smoke while at a bar drinking and partying, and not smoke otherwise.

    The problem we have with alcohol today is that we have more people drinking and more people operating deadly machines. That gave us MADD which has opted for more punishment yet all media is loaded advertisement for booze. If the Marlboro Man made us studly, booze makes us cooler and smarter. If you want to start at ground zero, stop all advertisement.

    Parent

    A few more interesting facts (none / 0) (#34)
    by Amiss on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 01:31:03 AM EST
    Even if an alcoholic stops drinking, the disease still progresses. If they resume drinking, their alcoholism is where it would have been had they never stopped drinking.

    There is a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, a child of an alcoholic has an 85% chance of becoming an alcoholic if they ever take that first drink.

    I have no link for these facts, these are things I have learned by attending many AA and Al-Anon meetings in my lifetime.

    Parent

    I prefer addiction myself... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 10:54:49 AM EST
    disease implies no fault of your own, and though I am sympathetic to the struggles of addiction, but it all starts from a choice.

    Then again, some diseases result from choices too...diabetes due to poor eating habits, lung cancer from smoking, etc.  So who knows...

    Parent

    So, why is it that some people (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Anne on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:13:25 AM EST
    can take a 2-week prescription for Vicodin and at the end of the two-weeks have no desire to take more, and others are off to the races?  

    I had two shoulder surgeries, was on pain medication both times, but when the pain lessened, I left the Vicodin on the shelf and took OTC medication.  If it's a highy addictive drug, how come I'm not addicted?

    Ask yourself why some people can smoke cigarettes "socially" - you know, once in a while, like when they go out - and others are hooked from the first cigarette.

    I think people mistake the disease comcept for being little more than a convenient excuse or a cop-out, but that's because the behaviors associated with these particular diseases are socially unacceptable, have been accompanied for years by a strong stigma and the accompanying sense of shame.  Things that prevented - and still prevent - people from getting the treatment they need.

    Parent

    imo, addiction is not disease. (none / 0) (#17)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:32:47 AM EST
    I used to chew tobacco. For years, all day long if I could. I was addicted to it, as much as my individual being can be addicted to tobacco. Still am, I guess.

    Gave it up years ago, but I still think of it at least once a week. Thinking of it right now...the flavor...the buzz...the feel of it in my cheek...

    Thing is, I can/do choose not to do it anymore. I can't choose not get a fever.

    Yeah, there are stigmas about addiction. Seems to me that accepting the stark reality and harsh stigmas of your addiction is the first step to stopping it...


    Parent

    My laymens opinion... (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:45:33 AM EST
    I don't think the human brain is ever fully capable of understanding the human brain...some people have addictive personalities and some don't.  Some people find a substance that makes them feel good and don't have the ability to moderate their use, and others are able to enjoy in moderation.  Why?  I have no idea, and I suspect the experts are just making  more educated guesses and forming theories, they don't really know either.

    I can binge drink for two-three days and not have a drink for a month.  I can recreationally take Vicodin and Percocet and not get "hooked" to where I take it everyday.  Yet I'm what I guess you could call a nicotine addict...I smoke a pack a day and don't get out of bed before having a smoke...but I don't think it is because I'm a helpless addict unable to control myself, I think it is more because I just really like to smoke.

    Not to mention every substance effects every human being differently, at least in my opinion.

    Parent

    Disease is an abuse (none / 0) (#28)
    by jondee on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 02:28:34 PM EST
    of the language the same way addiction is an abuse
    of ones body, IMO.

    But, if a classification helps someone who needs help get it, no biggie.

    Btw, the best "treatment", in my experience generally comes from relationships with people who've been through the experience themselves and come out the other end.

    Parent

    All diabetes is not from poor eating habits (none / 0) (#35)
    by Amiss on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 01:38:18 AM EST
    There is also a genetic predisposition to diabetes. For instance, I am a diabetic, and there is diabetes on both sides of my family. I had always kept a close watch on my blood sugar and my eating habits.

    Parent
    Absolutely right... (none / 0) (#40)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 09:53:10 AM EST
    I should have said some forms of diabetes.

    Parent
    He got his medical licence revoked (none / 0) (#20)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:48:26 AM EST
    because he didn't pay child support in the past. Now that he has no income, how much child support do we expect him to pay in the future?

    Good question (5.00 / 2) (#22)
    by Steve M on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:27:43 PM EST
    but it can't be any less than zero!

    Parent
    True, dat. (none / 0) (#23)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:32:39 PM EST
    Since child support is based, I would imagine, somewhat on the income of the payer, if the payer's income drops can he get his child support responsibilities reduced?

    Parent
    Yes and no (none / 0) (#25)
    by Steve M on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 01:09:46 PM EST
    I think, as a real-world matter, it depends on the reason it dropped.  For example, if I'm a successful lawyer paying a commensurate amount in child support, and I decide to quit my job because I always wanted to attend cooking school, I'm not sure a court would say "okay, now you only have to make the child support payments that a penurious student would pay."  If it's voluntary, or if it's brought on by your own actions, you may not get any relief.

    I confess there's a lot of things about child support that I never really understood.  Here's an interesting article that explains the hilariously-named "three-pony rule."

    Parent

    No fourth pony for you! (none / 0) (#27)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 01:33:16 PM EST


    Parent
    He should have had it revoked (none / 0) (#36)
    by Amiss on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 01:56:53 AM EST
    for many other reasons, like pretending to be a board certified plastic surgeon.

    He had a temporary license and a chance to catch up his child support and failed to do so, then they revoked his license to practice medicine.

    LINK

    Parent

    Plastic Surgeon Gets a Year For Third DUI | 44 comments (44 topical)

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