Just to clarify a couple of points -

My husband is a cardiologist. He used to get all kinds of stuff from drug companies, from pens and socks (no kidding) and t-shirts to nice dinners and even weekends at Disneyworld. No more.

More important - my husband, and EVERY SINGLE doctor I know, has been sued, most (probably all) multiple times. Doctors get sued every day. If 98 year old grandpa dies, his doctor and every one else who was anywhere near grandpa at the time of his death - whether he/she was involved or not - will be sued. It's horrible. You trust your doctor with your care? Don't be silly. It's a bunch of lawyers who control your care.

They don't care about culpability. They just want quick money from settlements. My husband has NEVER settled, always against the advice of his lawyers. Every time he was dropped from the suit. The worst time was once when we were in the process of moving from one state to another. He was named in a lawsuit dating back a few years. At the same time, the company holding his malpractice insurance from that time went out of business. We were in a terrible position. We had not yet sold our house that we left, and were about to close on our new house. And we found out we had no insurance for the time of the lawsuit. It was hell. We were in danger of losing everything. It all worked out, but the stress was awful. (Not looking for sympathy...I just want people to know what their doctors are really up against.)