Judith Richardson Haimes is an American woman from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, who worked as a

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

, until an

allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...

to the iodine tracer injected for a CAT scan allegedly disabled her psychic abilities. She sued

Temple University Hospital Temple University Hospital (TUH) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an academic medical center in the United States which is a part of the healthcare network Temple Health. It is the chief clinical training site for the Temple University School of ...

and was awarded over $600,000 for pain and suffering and loss of income. This award was later overturned on appeal, 39 Pa. D. & C.3d 381 (Pa.Com.Pl. 1986). Haimes currently lives with her husband Allen Haimes in Florida and writes a syndicated newspaper column on grieving. Haimes's case was the subject of the book ''Judith'' by her husband. The case is often cited in discussions of

frivolous lawsuit Frivolous litigation is the use of legal processes with apparent disregard for the merit of one's own arguments. It includes presenting an argument with reason to know that it would certainly fail, or acting without a basic level of diligence i ...

s and

tort reform in the United States Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...

, but the facts are also often misrepresented.Crybabies and Whiners
by Chuck Colson in BreakPoint, Changing Lives, Minds, and Communities through Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular belief, Haimes never claimed that a CAT scan had caused her to lose her psychic powers. In fact, the often alluded-to CAT scan never took place. Haimes only claimed that the headaches resulting from her allergic reaction prevented her from earning a living as a psychic. Haimes previously earned a lucrative living by offering sessions in which she ostensibly read individual's auras, offering them medical as well as personal advice. She gained a reputation following an article in Philadelphia magazine that described seances she conducted at a wealthy Chestnut Hill patron's house.

Footnotes

References

* Galanter, Marc (1998). ''An Oil Strike in Hell: Contemporary Legends About the Civil Justice System''. Arizona Law Review, (40 Ariz. L. Rev. 717).

External links

Galanter's article with numerous supporting citations
Living people American psychics Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-law-bio-stub