A decision in
late June by a Virginia jury represents a sad and stunning display of doctors behaving
badly.
A Virginia
lawyer went to a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy. After chatting with
anesthesiologist, Dr. Tiffany Ingham, he readied his smartphone to record the
post-op directions so he wouldn’t miss anything. He then inadvertently struck
the record option before the process started and recorded the whole colonoscopy.
On his drive
home, he played the recording and was stunned by the crass dialogue about his
body parts and a line of insults toward him specifically by Dr. Ingham.
The patient
filed a lawsuit against the physicians and their practices for medical
malpractice, defamation, and punitive damages, even though the procedure went
well.
The defense
suggested the recording itself was not legal, yet in Virginia only 1 party must
consent to recording of a conversation. The recording was entered into evidence
and showed that Dr. Ingham talked about the patient’s sexuality, threatened to
punch him in the face during the procedure, wondered if he had a sexually
transmitted disease, and called him a “wimp” and other names.
Dr. Ingham was found
liable and the patient received $500,000 in damages. She has since moved
to Florida and continues to practice there.
Doctors should be reminded to always appropriately discuss their patients, particularly in today’s developing technology age. A few inappropriate words can be quite harmful.
Doctors should be reminded to always appropriately discuss their patients, particularly in today’s developing technology age. A few inappropriate words can be quite harmful.
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