Bad Doctor-Options?

[Grayfox]

To make a very long story short as possible, my oldest son (44) is diabetic. He's been having serious problems with his right foot for about 6 months. Several surgeries to remove infected tissue and has to constantly be on a wound vacuum. He can barely get around and has multiple doctor's visits every week, plus any normal running around he needs done. I'm his driver.
Today he was supposed to have skin grafts put on his open wounds. This was to be the last step to getting him straightened out. Just a couple of weeks for this to heal and he'd be good to go.
This was to be performed by a Plastic Surgeon. New doctor for him. We only saw this guy twice to schedule surgery. Frankly, he didn't seem real interested. He did insist on a $1200 down payment. Which my son paid.
Because its the first of the year and due to my son's insurance and deductible, he had to pay the hospital $2800 in advance.
Today was the day. We showed up a little early. The hospital did their part just fine. THE DAMNED DOCTOR DIDN'T SHOW UP! Not a call or nothing. He just never arrived!
My son and I are both beyond pissed off!!!!
We have filed a formal complaint with the hospital. But we can't blame them. They did their part and quite well too.

My question is what can we do about this? Who do we file complaints with? What action can be taken? And then there's the $4000 he's out! What about that?
Any and all opinions/ options welcome.

 

[Rpg]

A complaint to the medical licensing authority in your state is appropriate.

It’s also possible to begin the process of documenting the event in a demand letter to the doctor to recover his out of pocket expenses. Don’t write this yourself: you need an attorney to avoid messing it up in ways you can’t imagine.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Contact your state representative's office and ask them how to proceed.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I think your first step is to call the doctor's office and ask them what happened. Doctors are human, and they run into the same kinds of problems we all do. Was he in an accident? Was he arrested? Seriously ill?

If none of those apply, then I would demand a refund of my $1200. I might also consider leaving negative reviews for him or her on some of the online review sites specific to medical professionals.

 

[twodog max]

I would start with the Medical board then see an attorney

 

[smithman 10]

Some doctors are human

I think your first step is to call the doctor's office and ask them what happened. Doctors are human, and they run into the same kinds of problems we all do.

Reminds me of one of my favorite doctor jokes, not that the OP's situation is at all humorous.

Question: What's the difference between a surgeon and God?

Answer: God doesn't think he's a surgeon!

Seriously, between my wife and myself we have had enough experience with surgeons to sometimes be a little cynical.

My wife once had a difficult surgery that required the skills of a fine surgeon, and she had one, BUT, when he sat down to tell me about it he went on and on about what a great job he had done until I broke in and said, "That's just great, now tell me HOW IS MY WIFE DOING AFTER ALL THIS?"

Bottom line is, yes, doctors are human just like the rest of us but sometimes they need a little reminding of that fact!

 

[Narragansett]

Did you ask if the hospital wants to be paid a second time for rescheduling?

You might ask to speak to someone in the legal department at the hospital. Perhaps the hospital has some form of responsibility here in some way that you cannot imagine.

You may need an attorney, BUT I would first ask the doctor's office why they did not show up? Perhaps they will own the mistake and reschedule right away? Be careful about incurring attorney's fees for which you can not be reimbursed.

Certainly , it goes without saying you are upset. Try to do as much as possible in person, and remember to be professional in how you you deal with people.

Good Luck

 

[DWalt]

Hospitals normally have the authority and responsibility of granting physicians the privelege of practicing at that hospital. Whatever else you do, you should try to talk with the hospital administrator or the hospital's legal department regarding filing a formal complaint against the doctor with them. You might also contact your son's medical insurance provider and see what they have to say about the situation. I would be cautious about going to see an attorney first as he will charge you for rendering an opinion and you may well not be able to recover that fee unless he determines that there is a legitimate cause of legal action against the doctor for damages which could line the lawyer's pockets. I would not think there is such a cause of action from your description. Contacting your state's medical licensing agency to see what they say would also be advisable.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My normal year in/year out doctor is in charge of my medical procedures. If I have a problem, I tell him and he gets thing straightened out. The Colonoscopy people were even bigger pain in the rear than normal, he delt with it and got better people to work on me! The Urologist was unresponsive to my questions, The next visit, the Urologist bent over backwards to answer questions!

Your doc gives the referrals, that is control over lots of money! As they say: Money is power!

If you doc is unresponsive, flat out ask him who he wants you to complain to! All those visits are money in his or the groups' pocket. The account guy is very interested!

Ivan

 

[Oldengineer]

My wife is an attorney. I posed the hypothetical question. Her answer without hesitation or mental reservation was to immediately hire a medical malpractice attorney. It’s the only path to avoid an agonizing run around. It’s important to file fast while the trail is still hot. Also, taking such purposeful action will help with the anger and disappointment.

Tom H.

 

[Rpg]

Non attorneys don’t have the perspective to appreciate how easy it is for a civilian to muck up a case, wandering around creating issues that reduce the value and greatly increase the attorney time and cost of getting things sorted out.

No one wants to spend money on the blood sucking lawyer. Problem is, most civilians don’t understand the legal issues involved in most cases like this. Most particularly, folks don’t realize how what they do and say can come back to haunt them.

I remember a several day trial about a personal injury involving a front loader death that got sidetracked because the widow had a drinking problem. It really had nothing to do with the case, but consumed a couple days of trial time at $300/hour attorney fees on both sides. Had the plaintiff’s attorney gotten involved earlier, the issue is likely to never have been raised.

 

[WR Moore]

From the description in the first paragraph, perhaps you also need to consult another doctor for treatment of the diabetes.

Also, if this doesn't apply, my abject apologies: when my father was in hospital once, the room next door was occupied by a diabetic with serious limb infections. The doctor's rant could be heard quite clearly and it seemed the patient wasn't doing his part in resolving the issue and it was going to result in amputations if he didn't get with the program. It's been decades, he might already have lost a foot.

 

[yaktamer]

I think your first step is to call the doctor's office and ask them what happened. Doctors are human, and they run into the same kinds of problems we all do. Was he in an accident? Was he arrested? Seriously ill?

They'll tell you you have to schedule an appointment to come in and ask those questions. First available appointment is 10 weeks out.

 

[walkin jack]

Hey Cage you wanna bat that one outta the park

 

[SMSgt]

I have fired more than one physician for being inept or having an inept staff. I make them well aware of the reasons for doing so. Sorry about your son's foot problem, but that's one of the big downsides to diabetes. My mom was diabetic and lost a toe, which took forever to heal.

 

[johngalt]

I don't have a solution, but you have to be your own advocate.

I had an appointment with the electro-cardiologist to discuss an ablation procedure. He didn't know me, hadn't read my chart, didn't know my history, and couldn't answer my questions. He was there to do a sales pitch, and pushed all the questions off onto the NP.

I found someone else.

 

[Doug M.]

From the description in the first paragraph, perhaps you also need to consult another doctor for treatment of the diabetes.

Also, if this doesn't apply, my abject apologies: when my father was in hospital once, the room next door was occupied by a diabetic with serious limb infections. The doctor's rant could be heard quite clearly and it seemed the patient wasn't doing his part in resolving the issue and it was going to result in amputations if he didn't get with the program. It's been decades, he might already have lost a foot.

*
I am a moderate level diabetic, made so by the initial treatment for my kidney problem (not much choice about the treatment) back in 2009. The medical care I have gotten is first rate with only the smallest of hitches; I did have one surgery start late due to a scheduling error with the surgeon.

My judgment based on seeing a lot of diabetics is that non-compliance with good medical care is a common thing. I have been to death calls as a cop that were essentially 30 year slow motion suicide due to not following medical advice about diabetes treatment; I've heard my endocrinologist ranting at patients who did not come even close to following the doctor's care. My clinic has two sides, one of which is the hemodialysis part; the number of folks who have amputations and other serious problems due to their choices is staggering. All or nearly all of my providers of every type and level agree with me when I share my observations about diabetics as a non-compliant group.

When my wife and I watch old folks TV and see diabetic meds ads talking about getting one's A1C down to 7, I wonder how the heck these people live. I am only over 7 when I am forced to be inactive, and that has happened only a few times in the 16 years since my diagnosis.

Treatment options for the patient at issue here are not my thing, but I can assure you that aggression is critical and time is of the essence. He needs to work with his PCP and/or podiatrist to get this addressed with alacrity.

 

[Golddollar]

Sorry about your son's foot problem, but that's one of the big downsides to diabetes. My mom was diabetic and lost a toe, which took forever to heal.

*

Treatment options for the patient at issue here are not my thing, but I can assure you that aggression is critical and time is of the essence. He needs to work with his PCP and/or podiatrist to get this addressed with alacrity.

I have a mild case of Type 2 diabetes. I was diagnosed around 10 years ago as having full bore diabetes after going along with prediabetes for years until it caught up with me. Not surprising since I had a genetic double whammy with diabetes on both sides of my family.

One of my aunts was severely diabetic. She lost a leg, went blind and died from it. When I was diagnosed I felt crushed for a day, but then decided I was not going to let happen to me what happened to my aunt.

Living with diabetes is an active partnership between me and my medical providers. I record my sugar readings on the grid sheets I keep. If there is an anomaly I make a note on the grid sheet so that there is evidence that this is an isolated event. My diabetes NP and podiatrist check my feet for evidence of diminished blood flow. I carry glucometers in my cars and my travel bag. I keep Sweet Tarts in each car in case I have a sugar crash, because blood sugar running too low is a problem for diabetics too.

And here is something else I discovered. If you have sleep issues, get them checked out. I was suffering from severe sleep apnea and ended up on a CPAP machine. After a few months, my grid sheets showed that my blood sugar dropped 20 points across the board. I surmised that since I was breathing so much better during my sleep that I was burning my blood sugar better.

I realize this is a lot of personal medical information but if it helps even one of my brothers and sisters on the Forum I will be glad that I put it out here.

 

[RT44nut]

I think your first step is to call the doctor's office and ask them what happened. Doctors are human, and they run into the same kinds of problems we all do. Was he in an accident? Was he arrested? Seriously ill?

If none of those apply, then I would demand a refund of my $1200. I might also consider leaving negative reviews for him or her on some of the online review sites specific to medical professionals.

I’m very sorry for what you and your son are going through. I think contacting the Dr would be a good first option. If you hire an attorney, what happens if they don’t show! More money gone. That happens too. Probably the Dr would rather settle with you if possible without anyone else involved.

 

[46er]

Contact Dr. He should deal with the Hospital's charge. There is also small claims court.