We recently heard from a surgeon who told us about one of his upstanding patients.
The patient wrote a post-dated check for a surgical procedure. Surgery went well. Unbeknownst to the doctor, the patient stopped payment on her check. She followed up in the office the next day for routine post-op evaluation. No problems were noted. The patient was instructed to return at two weeks. She was a no-show. She resurfaced in the emergency room of a hospital 5 weeks post-op with an E.coli wound infection. Anyone have a hypothesis as to how the wound became infected?
Fortunately, the patient recovered with minimal intervention. Several weeks later, an attorney sent a note asking for the records.
The question? The patient still owes the practice for the surgery. Will turning the patient’s account over to collections impact any potential trajectory toward litigation? What about informing the District Attorney about the hot check?
The patient has already seen a medical malpractice attorney. This attorney will likely make an independent decision to file a claim whether or not the surgeon turns the patient / account over to collections or the DA. And presumably the attorney will make his decision based on his perception of likelihood of prevailing. Once an attorney has requested records, the train has left the station. There is little reason to avoid pursuing the outstanding balance in collections.
Collections versus District Attorney? Stopping payment on check for services already rendered is often treated as a criminal offense. Turning the case over to the DA might make more sense than turning over to collections. The DA will have more leverage. Plus, if the patient is convicted, she will have to make restitution. That restitution will be at face value of the check – and will not be diluted by collections fees a private agency would charge you. Another advantage of presenting the case to the DA is that the physician is ostensibly out of the picture. It is between the DA and the patient at that point. If the doctor turns the matter over to collections, he patient could theoretically present a counterclaim. But, she will not have that option with the DA.
It is true that pursuing an unhappy patient for $32 can turn that person into a plaintiff. But, this is a very different picture than a patient who intentionally stops payment for the entire amount – for a procedure that went reasonably well – and has already seen a medical malpractice attorney.
(This originally appeared in the Medical Justice Bulletin. Keep up to date with breaking medico-legal news and issues. Subscribe to the Medical Justice Bulletin here)
