Man who recorded doctors mocking him during surgery sues practice for $500,000

A man about to undergo a colonoscopy in Reston, Virginia, had a little pre-op preparation of his own: pressing record on his smartphone.

The Vienna-born man intended to capture the instructions that his doctor would give him after the procedure – but instead, he got so much more.

To his shock, when the man got home following the surgery, he uncovered a lengthy conversation of the surgical team mocking him while he was in his anesthesia-induced state, the Independent reports.

To make matters worse, in addition to their commentary, the doctors discussed avoiding the man after his surgery, instructing an assistant to lie to him and then place a false diagnosis on his chart.

“After five minutes of talking to you in pre-op I wanted to punch you in the face and man you up a bit,” the anesthesiologist is heard telling the sedated patient in the video.
A medical assistant notes that the patient has a rash, and the anesthesiologist warns her not to touch it because she might get “some syphilis on [her] arm or something.”

The assistant then says that the man reportedly gets queasy when he sees a needle inserted into his arm, to which the anesthesiologist responds, “Well, why are you looking then, retard?”

The video was filled with comments such as those, which led the man to sue the two doctors and their respective practices for defamation and medical malpractice.
After a three-day trial, a Fairfax County jury ordered the anesthesiologist and her practice to pay the man $500,000.

“I’ve never seen a case like this,” said defamation lawyer Lee Berlik. “The jury apparently was just so offended at this unprofessional behaviour that they’re going to give the plaintiff a win. That’s what happens in the real world.”

The anesthesiologist, Tiffany M. Ingham, 42, worked out of the Aisthesis anesthesia practice in Bethesda, Maryland, but according to an employee she no longer works there.
State licensing records show that she moved to Florida, but a practice in Tavares, Florida, said that she no longer works there either.

Daily Buzz

// Where is the doctors ethics ?

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