Something in the way he judged me

Something in the way he judged me
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
(Filed: 26/11/2004)

A judge has issued a ruling in the style of George Harrison's classic song Something in a case involving a doctor who allegedly forced the former Beatle to autograph a guitar while on his deathbed.

Gil Lederman, a New York cancer specialist, is being sued over claims that he gave too much radiation to a patient, leading to her death.

Agreeing to move the trial after Dr Lederman claimed he would not get a fair hearing on Staten Island, New York, because of the Harrison case, Judge Robert Gigante wrote:

"Something in the folks he treats / Attracts bad press like no other doctor

"He's in our jurisdiction now / He gets Beatle autographs somehow."

The judge prefaced the ruling with the words: "With apologies to the late George Harrison."


He concluded:

"And all I have to do is move this trial / Somewhere they don't know George Harrison.

"If this case I were to keep / Defendant would gently weep."

The dispute over the alleged deathbed signing in 2001 was resolved when the doctor gave the guitar to Harrison's family.

Dr Lederman is being sued for malpractice by the family of Suzanne Mikul, a colon cancer patient from New Mexico.

Her relatives claim he and his colleagues at Staten Island University Hospital exposed the 66-year-old woman to too much radiation in December 2001, causing her death two months later.

Steven North, the family's lawyer, said that they were outraged at the judge's ruling, describing it as "insulting. . . very offensive".

He said that they would appeal.

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