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Friday, May 09, 2003

By Tom Gibb, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

ALTOONA -- Someday, maybe the physicians of the land will build a hall of fame to honor the martyrs of the 2003 Malpractice Insurance War. And maybe they'll cast a bronze bust of Dr. John Littlejohn and give it a place of honor there.

	Dr. John D. Littlejohn made no attempt to hide his role in doctoring a malpractice billboard last week along Route 36 in Altoona. (J.D. Cavrich, Altoona Mirror)

Before he heads to the hall of fame, though, Littlejohn will have to detour through a local district justice's office to settle a minor tangle over a criminal mischief charge.

Call it an act of conscience. Or call it a petty crime. But nine days ago, the obstetrician-gynecologist climbed onto a 12-by-25 billboard rented out by the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.

The billboard carried a message listing 10 ways to improve Pennsylvania's health and one of them said, "Regulate insurance company greed."

Littlejohn fixed his own lettering onto the sign, changing it to say, "Regulate malpractice lawyers' greed."

"My purpose was to make a stand," Littlejohn said yesterday.

But he committed a misdemeanor doing it, according to police in neighboring Logan.

Billboard owner Lamar Advertising Inc. wasted little time ripping down Littlejohn's handiwork, and the township police followed Wednesday with a summons that could wind up costing him $300.

"I don't know if I'll fight it," he said. "I have no great desire to engage a lawyer, and I don't know if one would take me on as a client."

This was no hit-and-hide vandalism.

The guerrilla ad campaign was born when Littlejohn saw the sign on his daily commute from work.

So, he made his plan and climbed 10 feet onto the billboard's walkway, an act of valor in itself, given his fear of heights. He sized up the sign and determined that his hand lettering would have to be 20 inches high to cover the Trial Lawyers' message.

A few days later, on April 30, he returned and, according to Lamar, stapled his work in place.

Finally, Littlejohn parked himself in a lawn chair down on terra firma, watched traffic whiz by at 40 mph and, clad in tie and lab coat, sat still for television and newspaper photographers who stopped by.

The sign stayed up for the larger part of a day, including about six hours of daylight. Then, Lamar General Manager George Foster spotted it in the morning paper, and his crews had Littlejohn's commentary down by 8 a.m.

"I understand that kids do this," said David Lutz, a Harrisburg attorney heading the Trial Lawyers Association. "My guess is that he's one of the few obstetricians to get up and do this."

"We can't have people crawling around our billboards," said Foster, whose company took the complaint to police. "I can imagine what would happen if this doctor was crawling around the lawyers' billboard and fell off."

As for his colleagues' opinion of his effort, Littlejohn said, "Some liked it and some didn't say anything.

"It seems to have struck a nerve and gotten attention," he said. " ... For the right issue, I'd do it again."

Tom Gibb can be reached at tgibb@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1601.