Paralyzed teacher praises spine surgeon accused in scheme

Talk about a turnaround. Last December, Melodie Simon, the paralyzed teacher who became the focal point of the federal government's cases involving allegations of wheeling and dealing between Vegas doctors and lawyers, became angry and teary reading Dr. Mark Kabins' plea agreement. He signed a memo outlining his actions involving her malpractice case, including a backroom deal to avoid being sued.

Today, she once again is the spine surgeon's patient. She believes her paralysis from the chest down following back surgery in 2000 is not his fault.

That's what she told the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners in a letter presented Friday praising Kabins, whose livelihood depended on whether the medical board would take harsh action against him as a result of his felony conviction.

It didn't.

The medical board approved a settlement allowing Kabins to continue to practice medicine.

He has a six-month suspension of his license, but that suspension is stayed.

He must pay fines and costs totaling $13,000 and perform community service work.

On Tuesday, Simon expressed her devotion to Kabins, calling him a caring, compassionate doctor and her friend.

She was interviewed in North Vista Hospital, the only hospital where Kabins now has privileges. She is recovering from shoulder surgery and an infection.

A year ago, Simon learned Kabins was pleading guilty to misprision of a felony, admitting he observed a crime and didn't report it to authorities. He was sentenced to five years of probation.

After his January sentencing, Kabins hired communications consultant Sig Rogich to rehabilitate his image. He reached out to Simon, a teacher/coach at Cheyenne High School.

He had off-the-record meetings with his strongest media critics, television's George Knapp and me, meetings designed to humanize him, but not quote him.

Kabins hired attorney John Hunt to address the complaint before the medical board so he could keep his license.

Simon's letter to the medical examiners' board was written by Hunt. It supported Kabins wholeheartedly and said he was the subject of "false accusations and misrepresentations of the facts."

Asked what she was referring to, Simon demurred and said that was Hunt's language. She would only say the prosecutors were overzealous. She wanted to focus on her contention Kabins' treatment of her did not cause her paralysis.

Douglas Cooper, the medical board's executive director, confirmed Wednesday the board looked at Kabins' treatment of Simon and "it appeared there was no substandard medical care and no reason to open a malpractice complaint against him."

I've heard good and bad about Kabins' work and am not qualified to opine on malpractice claims.

But the Gage trial testimony painted a hard-to-forget picture of doctors scheming to save their own skins to avoid a malpractice lawsuit, even meeting behind the back of their own malpractice defense attorney.

Kabins and his partner, John Thalgott, held a secret meeting with Simon's attorney, Noel Gage, and consultant Howard Awand.

Thalgott, later a government witness, testified they agreed to blame the anesthesiologist and testify against him. In exchange, Gage would be rewarded with referrals of personal injury cases.

Gage, Kabins and Awand pleaded guilty to felonies and received probation.

Simon insists she was not manipulated by Kabins as part of his full court press to keep his license.

But by signing that letter, she dissed the federal prosecutors who negotiated settlements for her under the premise she was the victim of her own doctors and attorney, who were more interested in their self-interests than her well-being.

She has received $3.5 million from Kabins, $1.5 million from Thalgott, and Gage paid her $702,600, the amount of his fees from the malpractice lawsuit filed against the anesthesiologist, which settled for $2 million.

Nobody admitted doing anything wrong. Typical.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.