Legal Assistance

The Idaho Medical Association provides assistance on legal issues to IMA members through the services of in-house counsel Ron Hodge, J.D. You may contact him at these numbers:

Ron Hodge, J.D., Associate Executive Director
Telephone (208) 344-7888
Fax: (208) 344-7903
E-Mail: rohodge@idmed.org

Legal Assistance is available in the following areas:

Living Will
Malpractice Liability
Managed Care Contract Review
Medical Ethics

The IMA directs members requesting personal legal assistance to the policy cited here:

IMA Policy on Involvement in Litigation

The IMA recently adopted the following policy regarding member requests for personal legal representation:

THAT, DUE TO LIMITED IMA RESOURCES, THE IMA NOT PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL PHYSICIANS LEGAL DEFENSE WHEN THE CRITERIA OUTLINED BELOW ARE NOT SATISFIED AND/OR THE LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED ARE OF A NARROW FOCUS INVOLVING ONE PHYSICIAN OR A SINGLE MEDICAL GROUP PRACTICE.

• Whether the legal issues presented in a proposed case extend or clarify the case law on a matter of interest to Idaho physicians generally
• Whether the precedential value of the case (i.e., level of court, jurisdiction, and nature of legal proceeding) makes the case of interest to Idaho physicians generally
• Whether the scope of applicability of the case determination (i.e., state, regional or specialty-specific matter) will affect physicians statewide
• Whether the type and level of assistance being requested is reasonable and within IMA financial constraints
• Whether the chances of succeeding on the merits are acceptable
• Whether selecting a particular case as against other pending and likely litigation needs maximizes the effective use of IMA resources
• Whether litigation makes political and other viable options unacceptably less feasible
• Whether options other than litigation are available, are viable, and whether such options have been pursued
• Other applicable situations approved by the IMA Board of Trustees.