There’s something about Eric Turkewitz at New York Personal Injury Law, that makes people want to spill their guts to him. 

We all remember the Flea, the great anonymous medical blogger who happened to be a pediatrician in a med mal case.  As he learned on cross, the blogosphere isn’t quite as anonymous as some think.  But the visitors to Turk’s blog have learned nothing from the Flea.  

The Turk has posted about a Rico suit against Allstate Insurance claiming that the carrier has put together a group of doctors and IME companies for the purpose of rendering scam opinions that victims of auto accidents are fine and need no further treatment.  One of the docs in the suit sent the Turk a response, which the Turk diligently posted as well.

But  the comments to Turk’s posts about this Allstate Rico action are quite amazing.  Defendants, their wives, mothers, kids, neighbors and the mailman have all decided to get in their licks on this case.  It is a gold mine for one attorney, a nightmare for the other.

What are they thinking?  Of course, these are anonymous posts, assuming that they can’t be identified through their content when they start posting particulars about their situation and why the plaintiff in the case is evil and wrong and disgusting.  But that’s the lesson of the Flea, and it was learned right there at Turk’s blog.

There’s no such thing as true anonymity on the web.  Turk has the email and/or IP addresses of the “anonymous” posters.  He’s already got his back to the wall, thinking what to do when the tall stack of subpoenas show up.  While he’s got no plans on spilling the good (perhaps a product of my good influence?), the fact is that he has no idea what a court will order him to do, and if he’s ordered to disclose the information about the posters, then he will have no choice but comply.

Why do they do it?  I guess civil defendants aren’t a whole lot different than the criminal flavor.  They want to have their say, to argue what they think is their side.  They want a catharsis.  But they surely aren’t thinking about the consequences.  And they surely haven’t learned anything from the ghost of the Flea. 

I wonder if I could post about rats and get all of them to spill their guts here?  Or maybe dirty cops?  But then, I’m no Turk.  It’s just amazing how he gets people to come out of the woodwork and vent.