Virginia Man Wins $500,000 In Court After He Recorded His Anesthesiologist Mocking Him During Colonoscopy
It sounds like the sort of mean-spirited prank you’d play in grade school: insulting, mocking, and planning to lie to someone completely unconscious.
Unfortunately for a Vienna, Va., man, it happened to him as he was placed under anesthesia and by the medical staff that was entrusted to take care of him. Luckily, as the Washington Post reports, he accidentally got their entire playground conversation on tape and now, thanks to a civil court decision, is set to receive $500,000 for his unprofessional mistreatment.
The unidentified man, going by "D.B" in court documents, was set to receive a colonoscopy on April 13, 2013 fully anesthetized. So he decided to record the post-procedure instructions given to him via tape recorder since he would still be woozy afterwards. He turned on the tape and placed it in his pants just prior to the procedure, but because his pants were placed underneath him during the procedure, he unwittingly recorded the whole debacle.
Though the gastroenterologist who performed the colonoscopy, Dr. Soloman Shah, engaged in some demeaning banter, it was primarily his anesthesiologist, Tiffany M. Ingham, 42, who performed the lion’s share of the mockery.
From insults about their patient’s sexuality to speculating about a light rash on his genitals being a full-blown case of syphilis or tuberculosis, the recorded excerpts of Ingham’s jabs, released by the Washington Post, are as sophomoric as they are lacking in humor. "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 was recorded telling "D.B." She even went as far as falsely recording down on his medical chart after the procedure that he suffered from hemorrhoids.
Late last week, a Fairfax County jury ruled that Ingham’s words were undignified and defamatory enough that "D.B" deserved $100,000 for the lies about the syphilis and tuberculosis, $200,000 for general medical malpractice and another $200,000 for punitive damages. To add insult to insult, they also ruled that Ingham’s former employer, Aisthesis, would have to cough up at least $50,000 of the latter award to "D.B."
The Washington Post reports that Ingham is no longer working there nor at another anesthesiology practice in Florida, where she has since moved. And comments from any of the parties involved haven’t been forthcoming.
It’s probably just as well since there isn’t anything that could justify the words spoken out loud in the video. Here’s hoping this embarrassing incident serves as a reminder for the importance of a good bedside manner, even, or perhaps especially, if that bed contains an unconscious patient.