LymeNet Flash: Update on Dr. Jones

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Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :

Charles Ray Jones, M.D.

Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine

Lyme Disease

111 Park Street, First Floor

New Haven, CT 06511

Tel: (203) 772-1123 Fax: (203) 772-0682

December 12, 2012

Dear Friends,

Season's Greetings to all! I am thankful to everyone who has been

following my ongoing legal battle with the Connecticut Medical

Examining Board (CMEB). I am grateful to you for your many expressions

of concern for my well-being during what admittedly has been a

difficult and draining process.

I had shared with you previously the excellent news that the

Connecticut Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of the first

set of charges against me. This hearing is now expected to be

scheduled just after the holidays. A victory will be extremely not

only for me, but also for other LLMD's, because it would establish a

highly significant precedent, requiring a higher burden of proof in

order to prosecute physicians who are brought before their medical

boards. In my case, it also could positively affect the outcome of the

remaining set of charges that were brought against me. I am extremely

grateful to my attorney, Elliott Pollack, for his highly skilled legal

representation, and to the Connecticut Supreme Court for agreeing to

hear my appeal.

Despite this positive news, I must admit that the legal proceedings,

stretching as they have over the past 7 years, have taken a huge toll

on my office. In addition to the high cost of the legal defense

itself, the monitoring requirement established by the CMEB (monthly

visits from a practice monitor for a period of 4 years) has been

extremely time-consuming and expensive. Numerous patient charts must be

prepared for each visit, requiring hours of clerical time. My staff,

already working hard to meet the high demands of our busy practice, has

had to rise to the additional challenge of preparing these charts for

each visit, sometimes necessitating that they work overtime to complete

them. The average combined cost for the monitor and associated

clerical work has been approximately $6,000 per month.

Many of you have reached out to assist me with these staggering

financial costs. While I have been extremely grateful for your caring

and assistance, the additional burden that this poses to friends,

patients and colleagues troubles me greatly. Your repeated words of

encouragement and reassurance have convinced me

to persist - along with my grave concern that, should the CMEB prevail, conditions for other

LLMD's could become ever more difficult. I am

encouraged too by the thousands of children who

have been able to receive effective treatment

for their tickborne illness,

as a result of astute legal representation which

has allowed me to continue to

practice over these past 7 years.

With all of this in mind, I must yet again reach

out to you. My legal

defense fund is depleted and my account is in

arrears; the current balance due exceeds

$100,000. While this figure is staggering, it is

unfortunately consistent with the costs

associated with a legal battle which has been as

extensive as mine. Preparation for the Supreme

Court appeal has been complex, and legal fees

will continue to mount when we appear before them

for the hearing. Pullman & Comley has been

flexible and accommodating, but the growing,

unpaid balance is in violation of their policy

in these matters, and my legal representation

will be in jeopardy once again if a significant

paydown is not forthcoming very soon.

For those of you who so kindly send holiday gifts

my way, I ask that

you make a donation to my legal defense fund

instead. No gift would please me more and no

amount is too small! If any of you have

creative ideas for fundraising, I encourage you

to act now! The need for donations is urgent!

Instructions for donations are listed below.

In the past, the sheer volume of donations has

made a strong impression on Pullman & Comley, and

it is important to demonstrate that the Lyme

Community continues to care about the charges I

am fighting. For a summary and background of

these issues, please go to

www.drjoneskids.com.

With warmest wishes for a happy and healthy

holiday season,

Dr. Jones

To Donate to Dr. Jones Legal Defense Fund:

Please make donations payable to:

"Pullman & Comley Trust Account for Dr. Charles Jones"

(Note ``gift in the memo field - THANK YOU!!!)

Mail to:
Elliott B. Pollack, Esquire
c/o Pullman & Comley, LLC
90 State House Square
Hartford, CT 06103-3702

[ 12-13-2012, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: poppy ]

Posted by KentuckyWoman (Member # 38894) on :

Thanks Poppy for posting this..

Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :

Yes! Thanks for posting it! I am having difficulty- LOTS- with the formatting, but will try to get it on the children's site in some fashion, hopefully soon.

You can check here after a bit to see if it posted.

www.DrJonesKids.com

And please share this with everyone you know. Facebook/Twitter or carrier pigeon. Let's help Dr. J keep those doors open.

Thanks!

[Big Grin]

Posted by LymeXtu (Member # 24590) on :

Thanks so much for posting this, my son is seeing him and I had not seen this yet.

Posted by t9im (Member # 25489) on :

Hi Tincup:

Latest I have is the State SC hearing will be in February with a decision expected in the May - June time frame.

Tim