Medical doctors are not required to have insurance to perform surgery in Oklahoma, and patients can be operated on without being told their doctor is uninsured, according to the confidential legal documents of a Norman woman obtained in an interview.
Dr. Philip A. Floyd performed surgery on Michelle Lady Jan. 12, 2007, at East Norman Urgent Care, Lady said. Lady had stepped on a toothpick, and Floyd cut her foot open without first doing an X-ray and left the toothpick in the foot. Lady tried to press charges but has been unable to because Floyd did not have malpractice insurance, according to a letter to an attorney, Jarrod Stevenson, from an Oklahoma City law firm in regard to Lady's claim.
"I can't get an attorney to touch the case because (Floyd) didn't carry insurance," Lady said. "I could have died. He left a foreign object in my body."
Lady has called dozens of members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives as well as the office of Gov. Brad Henry, Lady said. All those she contacted -- except for Steve Washbourne, chief investigator for the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision -- did not know uninsured doctors could perform surgery, Lady said. Lady will continue calling state representatives next week, she said.
Listen to Michelle Lady tell her story
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