Anesthesiologist and Doctor Sued for Defamation and Medical Malpractice

Posted in Medical Malpractice on July 15, 2015

When a person has surgery or any procedure that requires being put under anesthesia, they are literally trusting the doctors and medical team with their life. They trust that the doctor is looking out for the patient’s best interests, and that the doctor genuinely cares about the patient’s well-being. Unfortunately, a Virginia man found out the hard way that the medical professionals administering his colonoscopy not only didn’t respect him at all, but they were also willing to lie on his medical records.

The man, only identified as DB, had pressed record on his cell phone to capture his doctor’s post-op instructions. What he didn’t realize is that he did not discontinue the recording, and that his phone, which was in his pants pocket under the operating table, continued recording through his entire procedure. When he listened to the recording later, he was horrified to hear what the doctors and medical assistants had said about him when he was under anesthesia. The comments were hateful, nasty, and highly offensive. The anesthesiologist had the most hurtful statements of all; when a medical assistant pointed out the rash on the man’s genitals, the anesthesiologist said not to touch it, or the medical assistant would get “some syphilis on your arm or something.” Then she continued, “It’s probably tuberculosis in the penis, so you’ll be all right.” The anesthesiologist also talked about how she wanted to punch the patient in the face within five minutes of meeting him, and mocked his fear of needles, calling the patient a “retard.” The doctor performing the procedure did not discourage the awful comments, but rather added a few insults himself. The doctor also admitted that he was writing a false diagnosis on the man’s chart, which is a falsification of medical records. The medical team said many other insulting, deplorable, untrue things about the patient in addition to the statements already mentioned.

The man sued, and the jury, horrified by the highly unprofessional recording they heard, gave the plaintiff a win. The man was awarded $100,000 for defamation, $200,000 for medical malpractice, and $200,000 for punitive damages.

Remember that old saying, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”? There is a good chance that the anesthesiologist and the doctor in this case won’t forget that saying anytime soon.

Read the original article here.