Published: May 12, 2006 01:58 pm      

Sometimes it takes a while for the truth to emerge

Somerset — A local attorney called the other day and immediately launched into an even-tempered speel about how one of her clients had been acquitted.

Brenda Popplewell noted that her client’s mugshot had been splashed on the front page on the Commonwealth Journal when he was arrested, and how the story of his acquittal probably wouldn’t be played the same way.

She seemed a little bit surprised when I assured her that it would be.

Sometimes it takes some time for the entire truth to come out. We’re just like everyone else — the defendants, the attorneys, the “victims” — in that we have to wait for the legal process to run its course.

Many times, the “accused” is proven guilty.

But there are other times when that isn’t the case.

A perfect example can be found on today’s front page, with the sad case of a good local physician who was dragged through the mud for no apparent reason.

Several weeks ago, we reported that Dr. Brian K. Priddle’s license had been suspended after a damning report by a “consultant” for the State Board of Medical Licensure.

Dr. Kimberly Alumbaugh is evidently a respected physician in Louisville. As a matter of fact, her Web site touts her as being named the city’s top OB/GYN on two different occasions.

But according to the final order by the board that reversed Priddle’s suspension, Alumbaugh did a hatchet job on Priddle.

Her study of medical charts for 20 of Priddle’s patients — in an investigation, by the way, that began when Priddle himself gave information about a prescription drug scam to the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force — was scathing. Alumbaugh called Priddle “incompetent,” “negligent” and insinuated that he issued hardcore controlled substances such as Hydrocodone and Oxycontin way too easily. She asserted that Priddle’s conduct “resulted in many patients becoming addicted to narcotics.”

The final report disclosed, however, that Alumbaugh didn’t even bother to discuss the cases with Priddle prior to her findings. Also, the board itself did not allow Priddle to answer Alumbaugh’s allegations before suspending him.

In the legal world, you might say Priddle was “rail-roaded.”

When Priddle did have the opportunity to address the board, he explained his decisions on each of the 20 patient case studies that were examined. And in each case the board found his decisions to be anything but “incompetent.”

To the board’s credit, it admitted, “In some cases, Priddle showed that Alumbaugh was simply wrong in her reading or interpretation of his patients records.”

In the ultimate slap in the face of the board’s process, Alumbaugh did not appear on the second day of Priddle’s hearing, even though she had been served with a subpoena.

Chad Elder, the chief counsel for the state board, and Dr. Alumbaugh herself, did not immediately return phone calls to the Commonwealth Journal yesterday.

Somehow that is not surprising.

One can only hope that the state board reviews its procedures for issuing “emergency” suspensions — as well as its list of “competent” consultants.

The bottom line is that Priddle has been exonerated, and the Commonwealth Journal is just as committed to spreading the word about his vindication as it was to reporting the unfortunate news of his suspension last month.

Now we all know the rest of the story, and the truth behind the story.

Sometimes it just takes a little time for the picture to come into focus.