: About Me

AuthorMichael Townes Watsonauthor of America's Tunnel VisionHow Insurance Companies' Propaganda Is Corrupting Medicine and Law.

I live in the West Greenwich Village area of New York City, with my wife, Becky, and our two sons, where we have spent most of our time since 2004. I was a trial lawyer in Fort Worth, Texas for twenty-eight years, engaged for the greatest part of that career as a plaintiff's medical malpractice lawyer. Being a trial lawyer was what I wanted to do when I started law school at the University of Texas School of Law in 1973, and my career was enjoyable and challenging. Like many trial lawyers, after initially "paying my dues," I arrived at the point in my career where I had the opportunity to work on behalf of good people, with legitimate cases and significant injuries. These were always the people who most needed the help.

I now spend my time reading and writing about the one thing that I think people still do not fully understandthat they can easily become the victim of an error made by the healthcare system or by an individual in the healthcare system, and that the justice system will not be there for them. If my work can help readers understand that one point, then I believe that I will have accomplished more than I ever could by working on individual cases. So, all in all, the developments of my life have been good for me. I hope my writing will also be good for someone else.

I never planned to quit trying cases and become a full-time writer. Several things converged over the course of a short period of time that moved me to that decision-first, six back surgeries over the course of a twenty-year period of time, leaving me unable to sit or stand for the time necessary to try cases; second, I became an adjunct professor of law at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, and wrote three law books on Civil Evidence, and became more of a student of the law; and finally, I saw that most people did not realize that the insurance company's "reforms" of the medical malpractice laws were making people more vulnerable than ever to medical error, and I believe need to learn the truth. Thus, my decision to write this book

My new residence in New York frees me from yard work and my former lengthy morning commute to the office, and allows me to work from my apartment rooftop, where I see the empty skyline space once occupied by the World Trade Center Towers. That inspires me with the thoughts of our freedom, spirit, resourcefulness and compassion for our fellow humans-the source of impetus for my daily mission. I write, publish and research every day from my home, where I work on my future books and my daily update of this website to give consumers new information about the healthcare system. I can only hope I can inspire you to learn about your healthcare rights.

While a trial lawyer in Texas, I had the fortune of being asked to be a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national society of lawyers from both plaintiff and defense practices-in other words, the men and women who represent both the injured and those who are defendants inn suits brought by the injured. The stated mission of that body is the "preservation of the Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury." I was proud to be asked to participate in that mission, and I was proud to be a member of the Fort Worth, Texas Chapter, the National Chapter, to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Chapter of Abota, and to be the Secretary/Treasurer of the Texas Chapter, known as Tex-Abota. I also was a member and on the Board of Directors of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and served for one term as the President of the Tarrant County Trial Lawyers, a group of lawyers dedicated to the representation of individuals harmed by the practices of business and insurance companies.

Michael Townes Watson

My passion is ...

Healthcare Safety

I know too much about ...

too little

My parents always told me ...

aim high

My childhood ambition ...

to become a lawyer

My favorite memory ...

christmas tree forts in the lot next to my grandmother's house

Why I write ...

to test my ideas

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

news, blogs, politics, medical developments

My first job ...

mowing lawns

My best moment ...

too private

My inspiration ...

my boys

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