Posted on 06/19/2008 9:26:47 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
VICTORVILLE — Sheriff's deputies arrested a physician after he lost patience with a patient's husband, punched him and threw a chair at him, sheriff's officials announced Wednesday.
The victim received first aid from the injuries at the physicians office, officials said.
Sukalpa John Dutta, 36, was booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials from the Victorville station.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies came to the 12600 block of Hesperia Road at 4:37 p.m. after receiving a report of the attack. Deputies said the victim was with his wife whose regular doctor was not available so she was seen by Dutta. At some point her husband began arguing with the doctor, officials said, and the doctor asked the couple to leave.
Office staff tried to separate the doctor and the patient's wife, but according to officials, the victim told Dutta he was ‘dumber than a monkey’, at which time the doctor hit the victim with his fist and then with a chair.
Dutta was released after posting $50,000 in bail.
The doctor’s office refused multiple requests for comment.
I guess that’s one way to get some time off from a practice.
When he got treated for the doctor induced injuries did they charge him a co-pay?
“Office staff tried to separate the doctor and the patient’s wife”
Hmmm....that’s interesting.
I guess the husband knew more about medicine than the doctor. I go to my mechanic and argue with him about how to fix my car because I know nothing about cars.
Now a mechanic might punch you out.
Maybe they should have tried spraying them with a garden hose.
I wonder how he ever made it through medical school.
probably best you aren’t seeing patients, given your mood today... ; )
In today’s society, the consumer has little respect for professionals and their opinion.
My advice to all professionals, is that if a client, patient, or otherwise customer begins this and you are getting angry, leave the premises and refuse further association. Refund or don’t charge the client/patient/customer for the visit. It’s cheaper in the long run. And God help us all here to do the same.
Some background on the doctor, fwiw:
Sukalpa John Dutta
Doctor profile:
Gender: Male
Years of practice: 8 years (since 2000)
Summary of specialties: Family Practice
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: [N/A]
Doctor education:
Medical school: American Univ Of The Caribbean, Sch Of Med, Plymouth, Montserrat
Training: Providence Hosp Med Ctrs, Family Medicine
Probably affirmative action. Lots of incompetent doctors are turned out in the name of affirmative action. Lot's of doctors also went to non-US medical schools that may not be so great. I once looked at where doctors went to medical school (the ones in my plan) and was shocked that most of them went to no-name schools that were not located in the US or even Europe.
I also know that lots of doctors (as well as other professionals and trade people) are incompetent. Just because someone went to medical school does not mean that they are competent. There are lots and lots of quacks out there, and that is one reason they get sued a lot (of course there is also lawsuit abuse by trial lawyers too).
Not too long ago in this country we had the concept of “fighting words”. Men were not required to endure insults. They were expected to respond to slurs directly and decisively.
Now everything is a matter for the police and the courts.
Strange how people were much more polite when “fighting words” were treated as such.
.
Medical school: American Univ Of The Caribbean, Sch Of Med, Plymouth, Montserrat
He must have turned down Harvard and Johns Hopkins because he didn't like the weather.
No, the husband did not know more about medicine than the doctor but the husband was correct. The doctor was, indeed, "dumber than a monkey".
When you get into such a situation with hostile patients, you turn around, walk away and let Hospital Security handle the situation.
Dr. Dumb Monkey is now facing assault charges, may very well have his medical license revoked and will certainly have a civil lawsuit filed against him.
Dumb. Really dumb.
Patients familys can be very annoying. Theres been a few times I would have rather just left the room instead of being professional and doing my job. Ignorant people are the worse.
The ones that crack me up are the ones who demand to know a glucose result and then when you give it to them they ask if thats good or bad.
There are lots of very good doctors. However, there are also lots of very bad doctors. Even great doctors make mistakes, so it pays to get second opinions, etc.
LOL
I have known a few mechanics who would try to sell you a transmisin overhaul when all you realy needed was a new set of plugwires. Just because a “mechanic” has a sign up saying he is one doesn’t mean he knows what he’s doing, I feel the same way about doctors sometimes.
LOL!!!
A whole new meaning to the word ‘iatrogenic.’
a chair is a 'deadly weapon'? -
How long before there's a ban on chairs?
Don’t assume doctors are omnipotent or that they have read your chart. We had an issue with a neurosurgeon a few years ago that gave my husband medication that was contraindicated for his chronic illness and then told my husband he was a mental case when his chronic condition worsened. They heard me yelling at that jerk out in his waiting room because he had not read my husband’s chart all the way through.
More recently, the nurse practitioner at my daughter’s OB-GYN started to chastise my daughter for considering not breastfeeding past a few days. The rheumatologist that my daughter sees suspects she has non-antibody specific RA and prior to her pregnancy was treating her with Lyrica. Lyrica is a nerve inhibitor that can cause infant brains and nerves not to develop. It is a class X drug that should never be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Not only was the NP NOT aware my daughter was taking Lyrica, she didn’t know what it was. Again, she hadn’t read my daughter’s chart all the way through.
Our primary has no problem with us asking pointed questions (he expects it since hubby is a biology major). My husband spends a lot of time researching his condition and possible treatments for it on his own and our doctor is secure enough that he has tried a few of the treatments that my husband has asked about. He shoots down the ones that he feels are too risky or that he does not think will work, but he provides a detailed explanation why he can’t approve them. He is also active in trying to get obscure researchers to look at my husband’s medical history. His advice to us was to not trust a doctor who says your crazy rather than admitting that he can’t figure out what’s wrong.
What were they argueing about???????
I’m still stuck on the first meaning....what dat big wurd mean??
Patients familys can be very annoying.
—
No comment.
I know what of you speak.
I could never be a doctor or a Judge. ;-)
It pays to be that way all time about anyone who is providing services to you. There is a good chance the person is wrong or an incompetent idiot.
I cannot count the number of times mechanics have given me wrong information. I happen to know a lot about auto mechanics, so I can spot an incompetent mechanic very quickly when I start talking to them.
What were they argueing about???????
—
If we’re lucky, this will go to trial and be on Court TV, so we can find out the details . :-)
You better do your own homework and not fly blind on anything that you have done, especially something as important as your health and your life.
Apparently he didn't. He's not listed in the AMA database in California. It lists both members and non-members.
The professional’s duty is to serve the consumer. The consumer has every right to question the opinions of any professional. Patients certainly have the right to seek a second opinion regarding any serious medical issue. If physicians were actually infallible, there would be no need of malpractice insurance.
Consider another licensed profession — law. In every trial, there are lawyers on both sides of the aisle. Clearly, they both can't be right about all the points of law raised.
There are dozens of other licensed professions, where it would be absurd to simply accept the professional’s opinion as gospel. Architect, teacher, accountant, and psychologist to name a few. A client has a right to challenge the professional opinion — to ask the professional to provide an explanation; or to seek a second opinion.
That said, I fully agree with your advice to professionals who are being abused by clients. The only caveat would be that a professional can avoid most of those situations by communicating with the client.
(FWIW, I'm a licensed professional.)
You’re right. I’m about one nasty phone call away from “mass murderer,” right now.
True. But I also have been talked down to by more than my fair share of “professionals”. Especially doctors who don’t really give a damn what you say because they have their minds made up before they even talk to you.
I have no doubt that they would have refuse further association, but it’s easier said than done when your wife is in need of medical attention and you’ve probably had to take off work to arrange this visit to begin with.
Maybe the “professionals” would get more respect if they employed the old adage - “The customer is always right”.
Did YOU say Sukalpa???????????????????????????????????????????????????Say what my Muzzy bro!
By the way, try "define:iatrogenic" in Google. You can often get definitions of odd words that way.
But this leaves us with no words for when someone throws an electric chair....
Sukalpa???????
Although it takes a certain level of intelligence (a very high level) to become a physician, obviously that does not ensure that the individual is not crazy, drunk, on drugs, has good bedside manner, or even common sense, BUT the man should not have called him “dumber than a monkey.”
This doctor obviously has some self-control issues but I really don’t think that people should be insulting each other in this manner. Respect is always a good thing. Now if the doctor had said something first, well....
My family and I have run the gamut of doctors, from the absolute best in their fields to the stupid monkeys. You’re best bet is to learn as much as possible about your condition and walk out if the doctor seems clueless. You know your body best.
I agree with most of your post in that a person really has to be their own advocate. Doctors often don’t check everything. I’ve been prescribed things that are also contraindicated. I also recently had an experience where the pharmacy totally screwed up. Thankfully I had paid CAREFUL attention to my doctor’s instructions on how to take the medicine so when the pharmacy wrote it out otherwise, I questioned them immediately.
My issue with your post is that you said you were “yelling” at the doctor. In a civil society, is this really necessary? We are going to have some serious shortages of physicians in the near future and, frankly, considering all they have to go through nowadays, and with the outrageous malpractice rates, and then having to be yelled at by patients, even if they did make a mistake, is just sad to me.
Would you “yell” at your attorney? If the checkout lady made an error, would you “yell at her?
Just wondering.
If you have been “talked down to” by ANY professional; and believe me, I have had this experience as well, it is your prerogative to change professionals.
My worst experiences have always been with attorneys but I’ve had a couple of doctors do this. One was a real creep. They are people too and there are nasty, incompetent, and ever other adjective, people in the medical community just as in all other communities.
Amen to that. In the several times my family members have sought a diagnosis, they were first misdiagnosed almost every time, for months or years, with the females almost always told they needed anti-depressants, when in fact they had serious physical illnesses.
Patients whose communication style is quiet, soft-spoken, matter-of-fact or objective about their symptoms often they do not get taken seriously like the drama queen patients. This phenomenon has cultural dimensions, given the ethnic background of most docs in large Eastern cities.
Your post makes several important and valid points. If a doctor makes a mistake, it’s YOUR body. One must be his/her own advocate. I keep trying to explain that to my mother, but she’s living in the old world where you just accept things as Gospel truth from doctors.
However, there is a civil, adult, and professional way to make one’s point. One can be assertive without being rude or antagonistic.
Again, excellent post.
My husband was having terrible pain in his upper leg, near the groin. It was so bad that he stopped on the was home from a business trip in Seattle, at his office and called me to ask me to get him in to see a doctor. I got him in to our family doctor and the doctor told him that it was a type of tendinitis. I told him to turn around and go back into the doctor’s office and tell him that it was definitely not tendinitis because tendinitis is not painful when you are at rest. My husband refused. He liked the diagnosis.
I year later, the pain was worse and he again mentioned it to the doctor. The doctor’s nurse called us at 5:30 on New Years Eve to tell us that my husband had a bone tumor. Thankfully, it turned out not to be cancerous, but waiting a full year was potentially disastrous. As it was, the delay put my husband at risk of stress fracture that could have caused him to need a hip transplant, on top of the metal bar in the bone.
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