Doctors allegedly mocked their unconscious patient

An attorney is suing two doctors in Fairfax, contending he inadvertently recorded them making fun of him while he was unconscious and undergoing a colonoscopy.

The patient – identified only as “D.B.” – is suing the doctors for $5.35 million claiming defamation, malpractice and infliction of emotional distress.

The patient “was verbally brutalized and defamed by the very doctors to whom he entrusted his life while under anesthesia,” said the lawsuit filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The doctors – a gastroenterologist and an anesthesiologist – mocked the patient as a “big wimp” and questioned his manliness, according to the lawsuit.

The patient underwent the colonoscopy in April of last year at Gastrointestinal Medicine Associates PC in Reston, according to the suit. A colonoscopy involves inserting a specialized camera to explore the bowels.

Advised that he might be groggy after being anesthetized for the procedure, the patient used his mobile phone beforehand to record the doctors’ instructions and advice, the suit said. Apparently, he failed to turn off the recorder.

His phone was placed with his clothes in a plastic bag that ended up in the operating suite with him, his suit alleged. The mobile phone recorded “the entire preparation and procedure,” the suit said.

The patient replayed the instructions as his wife drove him home from the doctors’ office and he then realized the phone audio had captured the doctors’ comments, the suit said.

The anesthesiologist, Tiffany Ingham, launched into a crude discussion of the patient as soon as he became unconscious, according to the allegations. She made light of the amount of medicine required to anesthetize the patient and suggested he was overly concerned about the medical procedures, the suit said.

Addressing the unconscious patient, Ingham allegedly said, “And really, 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, along with gastroenterologist Soloman Shah, allegedly discussed in mocking terms a rash on the patient’s penis for which he had been prescribed medication. Ingham suggested the patient might have syphilis or tuberculosis, the suit said.

The doctors and a staffer then discussed how to avoid conferring with the patient after the procedure, suggesting he would talk too much, the suit said.

The doctors allegedly discussed misleading the patient into thinking he had already talked with Shah, but had forgotten the conversation because of the anesthesia. Ingham then suggested arranging a “fake page” to summon Shah away.

Later, the staff suggested the patient might be gay, with Ingham saying she knew gay men who were manlier than the patient, the suit alleged.

Ingham falsely marked on the chart that the patient had hemorrhoids, the suit claimed.

Listening to the playback on the ride home, the patient and his wife learned “to their shock, horror, and disgust” what had been said while he was unconscious, the suit said. As a result, the patient allegedly became “stressed, agitated, anxious, angry, and humiliated.”

Another doctor prescribed anti-anxiety medication the next month, the suit said.

Some of the defendants, confronted with the account of their comments, denied that anything inappropriate had occurred, according to the suit.

Represented by attorney Mikhael D. Charnoff of Arlington, the patient filed suit in November, naming Shah, Ingham and their practice groups. A later suit naming other practice groups was filed to make sure the proper corporate entities had all been sued, Charnoff explained.

The suit included six claims:

• Defamation per se based on the suggestion the patient had syphilis
• Defamation per se based on the suggestion the patient had tuberculosis
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Negligent infliction of emotional distress
• Violation of a state statute protecting the privacy of medical records
• Medical malpractice

For each count, the suit demanded compensatory damages of $5,000,000 and punitive damages of $350,000 “against each and every defendant.”

The gastroenterologist and his company have filed a demurrer, and a hearing is set for May 16, Charnoff said. A jury trial is scheduled for three days beginning Dec. 15, Charnoff said.

Ingham and her practice group have not yet responded to the suit, Charnoff said.