Patients often reasonably expect their doctors to be reassuring, comforting, professional and respectful. But apparently those expectations are too high. One man was incredibly shocked to hear his physicians mocking him during a procedure.
Fox news reports on one group of doctors who are being sued for insulting a patient.
One man who went into his local physician’s office for a routine colonoscopy realized he got more than he expected when he heard what his phone had recorded.
The man recorded his doctor’s instructions for the procedure on his phone prior to the start of the colonoscopy. After recording the instructions he accidentally left his phone on during the colonoscopy. He was shocked at what he later heard his doctors saying.
While the man was under anesthesia the doctors made various insulting remarks,
“Dr. Ingham is heard saying to the unconscious patient: ‘And really, after five minutes of talking to you in pre-op I wanted to punch you in the face and man you up a little bit.’ Ingham also allegedly called him a ‘big wimp’ and a ‘retard,’ joked about firing a gun up his rectum, made fun of his alma mater (Mary Washington College), and threatened to falsely note on his chart that he had hemorrhoids. The medical team joked about a rash on the patient's penis, speculating it might be syphilis. Then Ingham allegedly said, ‘It's probably tuberculosis in the penis, so you'll be all right.’ Doctors also strategized about how to avoid him after surgery.”
The man was appalled after hearing the recording. He has decided to sue the doctors for $1.35 million in damages.
