Quote:
Originally Posted by blueash
Be aware that this practice demands you give up your right to a trial by jury if they potentially commit malpractice. They make you sign a form that you will not see until your surgery is scheduled that you agree to binding arbitration, with an arbiter they accept unless they have recently improved their office routine.
I don't know if they have had issues with litigation, but even if they have, they should not be viewing a patient as a litigant. Trial by jury is a foundational right. I would not get in a taxi if the driver, even one with a sterling record, demanded I waive my right to sue him if he ran a red light, crashed, and I was injured. Why would I agree to waive my right with a doctor? Just don't make an avoidable mistake. The risk of being sued is part of the practice of medicine.
Don't force me to give up my rights to save yourself a few dollars on your insurance cost. Ophthalmology is one of the most desirable residencies for medical students. It provides a short work week, very high income, very rare emergencies, and you only work on a clean body part. I think that having to put up with an occasional lawsuit is not too much to ask in what is an otherwise fairly low-stress field of medicine.
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I had the same experience. And while I understand the purpose of the binding arbitration, I had a real problem with the way it was presented. They wait until just before surgery and spring it on you. No mention prior to it, nothing. You are all set to have the procedures and suddenly you have to sign away your rights.
Also, not only YOU give up your rights, but if you go blind or die because of negligence or any reason your family and heirs can not sure either. Basically, they have no responsibility for anything that happens.
No thanks.
It didn't feel honest to me, so I canceled and went somewhere else.