Juror in Malpractice Lawsuit Charged with Soliciting a Bribe

In a highly unusual twist to a medical malpractice lawsuit, a juror was arrested in the middle of a trial and accused with soliciting bribes to procure a plaintiff’s verdict.

The plaintiff had sued her physician in a case that had proceeded to trial in New York. As the case neared the point where the jury would begin deliberations, the plaintiff’s father was contacted by a man who claimed to have important information pertaining to the case.

The father agreed to meet the man and was shocked to recognize the man as one of the juror’s in the case. The juror claimed that he could sway the jury into producing a plaintiff’s verdict in the case in exchange for 5% of the financial award.

The plaintiff and her family went to the police, and the juror was arrested, in the midst of the trial. He was charged with misconduct and soliciting a bribe. The judge declared a mistrial.

From the August 01, 2011 Issue of Renal and Urology News