London: An American patient who recorded his doctors making derogatory remarks about him while he was unconscious on the operating table has won a $500,000 (Dh1.8 million) payout. The patient, who has not been named, set his smartphone to record his surgeon’s instructions before a colonoscopy, but failed to stop the recording before his anaesthetics kicked in. Later, upon hearing the entire recording, he was shocked to hear his anaesthetist tell his unconscious self: “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.”
Another person can be heard laughing at the remark on the recording, which was published online by the Washington Post. Also present in the operating room in Reston, Virginia, were the gastroenterologist performing the operation and a medical assistant. On the recording, the trio discuss writing a fake diagnosis of haemorrhoids on the patient’s chart, joke about patients inventing medical problems, and exchange advice on how to avoid speaking to the patient after the procedure. “You’re going to have a timer go off or have, like, a fake page,” says Tiffany Ingham, 42, the anaesthetist. “I’ve done the fake page before.” Ingham is also heard calling the patient a “retard”, and tells the assistant “make sure you’re gowned up [you could get] some syphilis on your arm or something” after a rash is observed on the patient. The patient sued both doctors and their practices. While the case against the gastroenterologist was dismissed, a jury last week ordered Ingham and her practice to pay $500,000 for defamation, medical malpractice and punitive damages. The surgery took place in April 2013. Because the doctors were not alone in the room, the conversation between them could not be considered privileged, a lawyer told the Washington Post.
