Medical Malpractice --anyone Care?

[hasoo]

Do any informed forum members know whether there is some medical oversight body that might help me get some satisfaction regarding the willful and reckless decision of a Thai university doctor\professor\department head which nearly resulted in the death of my non-Thai wife at a time when immediate care was essential but refused, leading to injury and an otherwise unnecessary operation, the cost for which we had to pay.

This was not a medical oversight nor excusable mistake in judgment but a matter of violating the most basic guidelines for the practice of medicine which is to see a patient when making a critical assessment, as opposed to assessing on the telephone 100 miles away, overruling two subordinate doctors who had just diagnosed my wife at the hospital and who recognized the need and agreed to immediate treatment. The errant doctor had no medical justification whatsoever for his decision. His was a power play pure and simple.

As my wife recovered in the hospital I became more and more aware of this doctor?s pervasive uncaring attitude, the extent to which he was unreasonably insistent, deceptive and playing games to get his way, applied rules in lieu of common-sense, ignored relevant information from me, and routinely subordinated valid needs of my wife and me to his teaching interests and ego. He is deficient in character and enthused with his power, in short the proverbial mad doctor; yet, he is purportedly highly respected and eminent in his field.

I am not seeking money but simply that this doctor be held accountable for his actions. He unnecessarily put my wife at risk, thwarting what should clearly have been routine procedure, with disastrous results. I have tried to get the issue addressed but to no avail. The director of the hospital, ignoring what happened and refusing to change the doctor in charge of my wife, said that if I wanted better treatment I should take my wife to a different hospital (impossible when she was on the verge of a leg amputation); the Provincial Medical Officer has no authority over the university hospital; a letter to Prime Minister Thaksin about the matter has gone unanswered for months; the Thai Medical Association as well as this doctor?s specialty association seem to hide from public access as I cannot find their email addresses, accessible web-sites or phone numbers.

Mai pen rai? It certainly matters to my wife and I and anyone interested in being able to trust that the next Thai hospital turned to for help. I understand that Thailand is a developing country and that medical standards are not on par with those of the first world. But what I am concerned about is a matter of attitude and will, not money or equipment. Doctors are supposed to be care givers, but our experience suggests that that notion hasn?t much permeated the medical field here. That an inhumane doctor can practice with impunity is as outrageous as are the cops who have the license to execute at will. Power abuse has no place in the practice of medicine.

Your helpful ideas will be most appreciated.

[Dutchy]

I have once read an outline of similar stories, doctors in Thailand at parties who refuse to take care of emergency calls and other mishaps. It's not that uncommon.

Don't give up your fight, why don't you try to find a capable Thai to get the contactinformation for you? Did you consider going to court over this case? You could put more pressure on the hospital director, he will naturally protect his staff as that's what's most important in Thailand after the paying customer...

Good luck

Dutchy

[dr_Pat_Pong]

If it isn't money you want from him, why not contact the president of his university, and the president of the medical association. I will get the contact detail and post it.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Medical Association of Thailand

67/9 Soi Soonvichai, New Petchburi Road

Bangkok

Tel 02 314 4333

email: [email protected]

[mrmnp]

does this work

[sbk]

I have read many stories in the papers over the years where wilfull negligence on the part of a doctor has resulted in the death of a (thai) patient. The hospital offered some pittance to the family and the doctor not only walked off scot-free but continued to practice. I think you will find the 'old-boys network' amongst doctors in this country is extremely strong. If nothing comes from contacting the director I suggest you contact a lawyer. I am afraid you will find there is very little real accountability in the medical profession here.

[hasoo]

I researched going to court but learned that the case would typically take six years to come up and that any award would be limited to actual damages. Further "With regard to medical malpractice claims in particular, it is deeply imbedded in Thai culture and consciousness that a patient does not file a claim against his physician. The most obvious reason for this is that Thais traditionally seek treatment from doctors whom they know personally, or one who is recommended by family or friends. This results in a closer than normal relationship and makes the already non-confrontational Thai even less willing to file a claim."

I will follow-up on Dr. Pat Pong's help by contacting the Medical Association of Thailand and send a letter, also, to the university president.

I'm amazed that no other forum members mention having had similar experiences. Maybe, we just had bad luck, despite such horrors occurring all to often here. Let's hope so because we are here for the long haul.

Thanks one and all for your replies.

[sbk]

Good luck to you and I hope your wife has fully recovered. Maybe the threat of a lawyer would scare them enough to do something? I don't know but I sure hope something works to teach this doctor a lesson in humility and compassion. Best wishes.

[hasoo]

Gloating and with the knowing look that he was virtually untouchable, the doctor himself challenged me to get a lawyer. So no, sbk, I don't think either he or the director are worried about that.

Re-reading my original post, I note that maybe I wasn't clear. An amputation was threatened but never necessary. I sweated that out for more than a week until I learned that it would not be required. I didn't get that happy news from the doctor or his staff. They kept me in the dark. I got it from a nurse friend from another department who did some spying for me.

(The operation that was necessary was plastic surgery. That set me back around 30,000 baht. They mucked that up big-time, but that's another matter.)

There were so many inane antics of this doctor which still enrage and compel me to not give up the fight to stop this egomaniac. I will mention one which occured just after the consequences of his decision became clear, when I learned that my wife might need an amputation. I wanted to know the facts from him and asked for a meeting. He called me into a small office, gestured that I should sit on a stool some two feet from his chair, then brought his face seven or eight inches from mine. We no sooner sat down when he leaned forward, toward me. Then, bringing his face some seven or eight inches from mine, he stared into my eyes in stone silence. He locked his intense gaze on me like that for more than a minute, maybe two, and then coldly asked, "What do you want to see me about? I have only five minutes."

The bugger tried to hypnotize me!!! I swear this is the truth, but how could I ever prove it?

Again, thanks to everyone for support and suggestions.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Get a law firm like Tilleke Gibbins to do a bit of letter writing. At least it will ruin a few nights sleeps for the good ? doc

[megashox]

I suggest contacting:

The Medical Council of Thailand

Tel (02) 5901880, 5901881, 5901883

E-mail [email protected]

Good luck with your quest for justice!

[hasoo]

Megashox, many thanks for the contact info for The Medical Council of Thailand. I have just sent them an email.

I am also putting a letter together for Tilleke & Gibbins. I knew about them, Dr. Pat Pong, but had been discouraged by what they say on their web-site about medical malpractice claims in Thailand, some of which I quoted in a posting in this thread a few days back. I hadn't thought of your excellent idea of how they might help by writing a letter. It's certainly worth a try.

The help and encouragement I have gotten in this forum makes me one more person happy to know you are all here.

[orchis]

I had also a bad experience.

Once I felt quite weak and asked my blood to be tested on heavy metal particles (Bangkok, pollution),

As I went for the results the dr said "no lead in your blood but you have HIV", in an almost triumphant way;

I told him I didnt ask him to check that and that in my own country I cd have sued him for doing that;

In retrospect it was maybe for the better, but later when I searched for his name in my medical file, which a more sympathetic doctor showed me, the test results and the name of that dr were missing.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Medical Association of Thailand

67/9 Soi Soonvichai, New Petchburi Road

Bangkok

Tel 02 314 4333

email: [email protected]

How did you go ?

[hasoo]

Some ten days back, I emailed the Medical Association of Thailand and the Medical Council of Thailand but haven't received any replies. It's safe to say they won't respond. (If I weren't in North Eastern Thailand I'd have gone in person.)

I held back on sending the other letters, to the University President and Tilleke & Gibbins, in hopes that the medical groups would show professional concern.

Now it's time to send those other letters, but I don't feel optimistic about getting the desired results. It's becoming ever more clear to me that there is no professional oversight of the medical field in LOS. This leaves doctors in a position to act without regard to any standards, and so many do. Power corrupts!

I'll keep you posted.

[hasoo]

Here's an update: Two weeks ago I wrote to Tilleke & Gibbins, the University president, and three more Thai medical associations, i.e., in addition to those associations I previously contacted.

I received only one response, from one of the medical associations, in which the writer expressed sadness about what happened to my wife but said he had no authority to investigate. I wrote back to him asking what body would have authority to investigate, but I never received an answer.

My research painfully concludes that there is no body in Thailand interested in overseeing or checking medical practitioners, leaving them to do what they will.

To my original question -- " Medical Malpractice --anyone Care?" -- prompted by the living nigtmare a Thai doctor precipatated by his wilfull negligence, the appalling answer is, "No one cares."

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Keep at it Hasoo. Make the buggers life a misery.

[camerata]

To my original question -- " Medical Malpractice --anyone Care?" -- prompted by the living nigtmare a Thai doctor precipatated by his wilfull negligence, the appalling answer is, "No one cares."

If you follow this stuff in the newspapers, it seems to be extremely rare that there is any successful action taken against doctors for malpractice. There have been two or three cases of lawsuits against big hospitals in Bangkok, but they were eventually dropped. That doc up North somewhere who was prosecuted for the death of a girl having liposuction was an exception, and mainly because it was so obviously dodgy treatment and the physical evidence was right there waiting to be found.

For the majority of us, a lawsuit is out of the question and the professional associations seem to protect their own. A (Thai) friend of mine was actually sued for defamation by the doctor in a malpractice incident after stating the facts of the case in a magazine interview. So you need to be careful if you go outside the normal process of lodging a complaint with the medical council.

[taxexile]

To my original question -- " Medical Malpractice --anyone Care?" -- prompted by the living nigtmare a Thai doctor precipatated by his wilfull negligence, the appalling answer is, "No one cares."

that, hasoo, is sadly the truth. i do hope you do get some satisfaction from your quest for some answers and accountability but realistically speaking you probably should not have high expectations, i'm sure you know that already.

and i hope you wont mind if i say to you,

dont let your anger eat you up and ruin your life. it happened, but you must move on.

you have your wife and that is what is important.

forget the image of the doctor sitting in front of you, it was in the past. its done, its over. its the present now and enjoy your lives.

my wife also suffered due to the poor quality of diagnosis (at samitivej) and also in the uk. (she is fine now but would have died if we had believed the doctors). my anger was intense until i realised that it would not achieve anything at all. and slowly i overcame it. but it could have become a destructive obsession.

doctors are not gods and we may not wake up tomorrow. enjoy each and every day you have.

good luck to you both.

[KevinN]

Very good advise TAX. If you ever have anything really important wrong with you and can afford it , I would suggest that you head for the USA,,but if you don't have the cash there,,they will not even look at you and you can lay in the street and die, but if they take your money and do a bum job,and you die,,then you can sue them cause they got lots of insurance to cover it,thats why the bills is so high,,so what ya gonna do? Kinda like wiping your ass on a hoop ain't it..

[maerim]

they take your money and do a bum job,and you die,,then you can sue them cause they got lots of insurance to cover it,thats why the bills is so high,,so what ya gonna do? Kinda like wiping your ass on a hoop ain't it..

Again with perfect logic another fascinating post.

I wonder if its' not too much bother can you enlighten the unwashed masses on how to sue the medical profession for malpractise once you are dead?

A ouija board perhaps?

As for Kinda like wiping your ass on a hoop ain't it..

No idea sorry, there are some mules near here and a few horses but ass's seem a bit thin on the ground.

[hasoo]

Taxexile, you are so right. This has been eating at and damaging me. I did my best, but it's time for me to let go.

Again, I thank all who posted replies. I learned much about life from this situation and from forum members, and will be especially careful to eye the hoops that lay ahead.

[KevinN]

I wonder if its' not too much bother can you enlighten the unwashed masses on how to sue the medical profession for malpractise once you are dead?""

Once again by trying to prove his superior intellect, The soap dodger has helped to alleviate any doubts for those people that wonder " Is this man an IDIOT"

[maerim]

I also wish you well and as its in the past try and keep it there.

My battle was with another profession the legal one better off trying to plait sawdust than fight them.

All the professions are the same, they close ranks and then it boils down to me versus them and they hold all the cards.

If its' any consolation after it a while it stops being a stabbing pain and more of a dull ache.

As for the hoops ahead in your life I would keep an eye out for these especially

Kinda like wiping your ass on a hoop ain't it..