Is is possible to patent or gain exclusive rights to " an irrefutable
reason to sue a doctor"? I am a nurse an I have found an irrefutable
medication mistake doctors are commonly engaging in everywhere that is
causing much pain and suffering to the terminaly ill. I would like to
sue the entire medical community. How do I do this?

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 13 Sep 2006 21:43 PDT

Howdy rusty1here-ga,

I think there is a way to accomplish the end results of what you outline,
but not in the method that you describe.  If you want, I can go into more
detail, and if it meets your requirements, I can post it as an answer to
your question.  Please advise.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Maybe I am missing something.....You want exclusive rights to a reason
to sue a doctor.  For example, if a doctor does something actionable
to a patient, that patient would have to go to you in order to sue?

Or are you looking for some sort of class action lawsuit?  You can't
really sue the entire medical community - you need to actually define
the defendants a little closer - is it the drug makers?

I am not a lawer and this is not intended as legal advice, but based
on what you posted, no it is not possible to do what you described.

"The entire medical community" is not a legal or commercial entity.

You cannot patent "an irrefutable reason to sue a doctor." Perhaps you
can write an article about such a concept, and copyright the article,
but this isn't the kind of thing that you can patent.

I too am no legal expert, but I agree with the other comments that it
doesn't seem to be possible to do what you ask. Basically, it sounds
like you have an idea (the idea being grounds for lawsuits) and just
that *idea* doesn't seem to be enough to warrant a patent, a
copyright, a trademark, or any other sort of typical protection
available to some intellectual properties.

Certainly, underlying the legal system is the notion that a lawsuit
can and should be intiated by the aggrieved/injured parties, or by
their designated representatives, or (in extreme cases) by the
appropriate governmental entitiy given jurisdiction over the injured
parties.  If you're not one of those parties, I don't quite see how
you can be involved in the process of initiating a lawsuit, let alone
all possible lawsuits. (Once a lawsuit is initiated, I could see you
being questioned as a witness, or an expert, but that's not exactly
what you're asking, I don't think...)

If your intention is to educate people about this "medication
mistake", then pinkfreud-ga's suggestion is right on--you should write
some articles, alert the media, etc.

If your intention is to somehow profit from any possible lawsuits
arising from this situation, then perhaps vballguy-ga's discussion of
a class action lawsuit is worth pursuing. And if you are a lawer, and
you wind up representing the winning side in a class action lawsuit,
you might profit indeed; many class action lawsuits wind up enriching
the lawyers as much as the injured class.

But none of that is quite like an "exclusive" right to sue for a
particular reason...

I know someone who successfully sued his doctors.  The result  -
besides the money -  was that the symptom he had, that was
misdiagnosed, is now generally and immediately considered as a
possible indication of tumor.
What I am saying is that the medical community does react to suits,
and to convincing articles.
As already pointed out, only a patient can sue the doctor for what
s/he did, maybe via a suit pursued primarily by next of kind,
unfortunately a very difficult construct with terminally ill patients.
I think you should seek higher medical support for your thesis:  an
independent specialist in the academic community on gerontology,
palliative medicine, or whatever field is most appropriate.

I assume that there are state and federal agencies that oversee
medical treatment and could be approached.

rusty1here,

i have legally obtained a patent and exclusive right to ask this
particular question.  please refrain from asking it anymore without my
consent.

-cab

Best laugh of the day.  Thanks.  Sue the whole medical community!

IANAL, but you have no standing to sue.  I mean, of course you can
sue.  You can always sue.  But you will not get anywhere because you
don't have standing.

Your question is intriguing.  It seems like the only *possible* way of
achieving what you want is to obtain a patent.   What you describe is
a funny sort of business model.   Perhaps you could apply for a patent
with an independent claim something like:

A system in which 
   a patient does xxx (e.g., describes symptom);
   a doctor prescribes yyy in response to the patient's complaint;
   said doctor files for Medicare reimbursement;
   said doctor is observed by a nurse to have prescribed yyy.

or some elaboration of this.   IANAL either, but you might want to
talk to a patent attorney and see if there's a possibility here.  
Certain medical ideas (e.g., surgical techniques) are, I believe,
exempt from being patented, but from what you've said, it doesn't
sound as if these exclusions apply.

No, you cannot patnet your idea.

You also cannot sue because yopu have no standing. (You were not wronged).

That being said, if you know about a problem and dont bring it to the
attention of your higher ups, you yourself may have some liability. 
i.e. If you see a problem in your hospital, you have a responsibility
to report it internally rather than sit on it.

By the waym, youy cannot patent a theory.  Thats like trying to patent gravity.

What you can do is sign a confidentiality agreement with a law firm,
then tell them your idea and see if they will then pay you for the
right to use it.

*This is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.