ATLreporter

At our newspaper in Atlanta, investigative journalism is still doing well but that is because our owners and editors make it a top priority. Our staff, overall, is much smaller than it used to be, so it takes a very bit commitment for us to keep doing this kind of work. Our readers tell us that this is very important to them, so that helps. Other newspapers especially in smaller cities really struggle to find the resources to do this kind of reporting.

yes, definitely! this was one of the findings of our story that many people do not report it because they are confused or do not think anyone will believe them. We also know that many complaints are never really investigated -- so yes, it is way more common than the total number of doctors disciplined whose cases we were able to research.

the situation your described is very common. we wrote about it in a lot in our series in 2016. all of the stories are available for free on our project website: doctors.ajc.com there was a pediatrician who got away with it for years in Delaware and had hundreds of victims even though he had been reported numerous times. Even when medical licensing boards know that someone has abused patients, they often still allow them to keep practicing after they go to treatment.

A couple of points here. I rode with a GSP trooper who had the ability to direct video into the car he was watching, so he had video proof of people texting while driving.

Second, police are trained to provide as much detail as possible in their reports. So they won't just say "observed driver holding a phone." They'll say "observed driving with a phone in a pink case, scrolling on Facebook." Or something like that. The more detail they provide, the more credible their report. And, let's face it, in court, the police officer's word is likely to carry more weight than ours.

They can do to their state medical licensing board and file a complaint, they can file a police report and they can also tell the hospital or health system that employs the doctor.