Doctor on Doctor Assault and Battery

Dale Buchbinder

According to Dale Buchbinder, the following Case Study is presented for your review:

You are the hospital administrator in charge of Suburban Medical Center’s (SMC) surgical practice. You have received a complaint from Dr. Singh stating he was hit on the head by Dr. Shaw with a stack of papers causing severe pain, headaches, and ringing in his ears. He has written an incident report and is threatening to file assault and battery charges with the local police.

When you make inquiries, you discover that this event happened in the office occupied by the house surgeons during the day. Dr. Notell, a colleague who was also in the office during these events, states that Dr. Singh and Dr. Shaw were arguing over the schedule. Dr. Shaw was in charge of the schedule and Dr. Singh was complaining that he was not being treated fairly.

According to Dr. Notell, the two physicians in question exchanged heated words using many expletives. At one point, Dr. Shaw got up from his desk and attempted to leave the office. Dr. Singh obstructed the exit and made several disparaging comments. Dr. Shaw held the paper schedule in his hand. He then proceeded to tap Dr. Singh lightly on the side of the head with the documents in an apparent attempt to make light of the entire conversation. Dr. Shaw then bypassed the obstructive physician and left the room.

Dr. Singh went to the emergency room to seek treatment for injuries from the paper blow to his head. He claimed he had headaches, ringing in his ears, and dizziness. In light of the absence of any corroborating physical evident of injury, Dr. Singh was sent home. Incensed by this chain of events, Dr. Singh decided to lodge a complaint and is now entertaining pressing criminal charges.

You now have both parties in your office for a conversation about the incident. It is apparent that there have been pent-up hostilities between the two physicians for quite some time. Dr. Singh believes he has been treated unfairly with regard to the call schedule and assigned work in the operating room. Dr. Singh feels he is not getting enough operating time and is losing income. Dr. Shaw points out that Dr. Singh had requested time off. In order to accommodate this request, Dr. Shaw had to schedule them to make up the difference. He also pointed out that he had to respond to the requests of the surgeons whom the house surgeons were assisting.

In the course of the conversation, you determine Dr. Shaw had been up all night before this event occurred. You point out to the two physician that the third-party observer stated he believed there was no malicious intent for injury. The two doctors leave your office stating that they will make a better effort to cooperate with each other in the future.

Questions:

Was either party harmed? Was Dr. Shaw’s reaction warranted? Was Dr. Singh’s incident report and emergency room visit necessary? Do you believe that there was a legitimate possibility of criminal charges and countercharges?

What kind of clinical and financial impacts do you think these behaviors could have on the hospital if unchecked?