Can lawyers hold doctors responsible for wasting their time?
I am mad as hell and I don’t want to wait any longer! Franklin, a lawyer friend of mine, expressed these sentiments after his doctor made him wait for more than two hours. I should send him a invoice for my wasted time,” said Franklin.
I am sure we have all heard this before. I doubt anyone ever sent a doctor a bill for the time they spent in the waiting room. What would happen, say, if a lawyer did it? Why not? The British courts awarded her damages in addition to just saying “Yech!” The British courts awarded her damages in addition to just saying “Yech!”
I think we would all like to see a lawyer bringing forth a lawsuit against a doctor, with the judge’s decision looking something like this:
Impatient J.:
This is an action for damages by Melvin Alvin, lawyer, against Dr. Arthur Coopersmith, dermatologist. The plaintiff claims that he went to the doctor’s office in order to treat a boil on his neck. He claims that the appointment was set for 10:30 am on the 23rd June, but he wasn’t seen by the doctor before 12:45 pm. He says that the defendant doctor saw him for five minutes and prescribed some ointment. The plaintiff claims that he shouldn’t have been kept in waiting for more than two-and-a half hours. For him, “time is money,” so he sent a bill to the doctor for $1,000, which represented two hours of billable time. I denied the motion because, although doctors have wasted hours of my time keeping me waiting in their crowded, unpleasant waiting rooms overcrowded with patients who are obsessed with their phones, it has never bothered me. I am a law judge, after all. Yes.
FACTS:
The good lawyer plaintiff Alvin, whom I will refer to as Melvin, testified that he intended to spend the morning in question preparing for a divorce trial. Yes.
FACTS:
The good lawyer plaintiff Alvin, to whom I shall refer as Melvin, testified that he intended to spend the morning in question preparing for a divorce trial. He expected to see the defendant doctor Coopersmith at 10:30 as scheduled. Melvin notes that, before arriving, he called the defendant’s offices to check on any possible waiting times. He spoke with Gladys the receptionist who informed him, “The doctor has many patients to see.” He will see you in the morning. Ha ha! Most important, don’t forget your health insurance information …”
ANALYSIS
Melvin argues several points of law justifying his claim. Melvin’s first argument is that the defendant can be held liable for forced confinement. The lawyer could have left but the boil on his head was too annoying and he couldn’t leave. He had to wait in the overcrowded, unpleasant waiting room for the defendant who was inconsiderate of the patients’ time. Melvin also argues the defendant is liable because he intentionally caused alarm and distress. He said that around 10:54, he became agitated and asked Gladys to inquire about how long he would be waiting to see the defendant. He notes that Gladys responded in the style Charles Dickens’ Madame Defarge: “Nobody interrupts a doctor.” Ha ha.” She went back to knitting.
In additional, the poor plaintiff Melvin pleads negligence. He argues that the defendant doctor owed a duty to care to his patients in order to make them feel good and not traumatized. He cites some well-established cases stating that physicians have been keeping patients waiting for centuries. He cites The Man of Law V. The Doctor, 31 C.C.C., the famous case of the keep-waiting that dates back to Chaucer’s time. (Court of Crazy Cases), p. 113. William of Yorke was a lawyer who started this action after he became ill with a high fever while on a pilgrimage in Canterbury. He went to his fellow pilgrim, the doctor, but he had to wait five hours before he could be seen. Lord Gerald, the trial judge, said, “Five Hours? It’s far too long to wait and be treated with leeches. The lawyer should not have waited more than a few minutes to see a leech. A plague on the defendant.”
Another case cited was Robin of Loxley v. Sherwood Forest and Associates, 29 N.N.R. The plaintiff, in Not Nottingham Reports, p 311, successfully sued a group physicians for being three hours late to a Robin Hood house call. The judge, Little Arnold J., awarded Robin Hood a sum of 280 shillings, representing what he could have earned during this down time, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
This court finds Melvin had made out a case against the defendant on all of his arguments.
DAMAGES
The evidence was that his claim for damages for time lost was clearly foreseeable. After waiting for about 15 minutes, Melvin informed Gladys that his billable time was $500 per hour. I’ll return in a few minutes, after I have a cup coffee at Starbucks. My meter is running.”
I find this evidence credible and foreseeable.
DISPOSITION
There will be judgment for the plaintiff as claimed, including legal costs. This award will be paid immediately. I can’t guarantee that we will see a decision like this in the near future. We may need to wait.
Marcel, after more than 40 years of civil litigation practice in Toronto, decided to close his law firm and continue his passion for humor writing and public speaking. His latest book, First, Let’s kill the lawyer jokes: An attorney’s irreverent serious look at the legal universe is available. Visit MarcelsHumour.com or follow him on @MarcelsHumour, formerly Twitter.
