What if a Doctor Makes Discriminatory Comments About the Patient?

We place an enormous amount of trust in our healthcare professionals. In many cases, they know more about us than even our friends and family. The doctor-patient relationship is vital, but what happens when a doctor makes discriminatory comments about a patient?

At The Weitz Firm, LLC our Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers know that discrimination can lead to mistakes or a sub-par standard of care for a patient. Let us get to work today so we can investigate your case and move to secure the compensation you deserve.

Discrimination against patients happens

None of us likes to think that our doctors may look down on us. We trust them. However, what happens when they head to the next room and say things like:

• “Can you believe that the patient is gay? No wonder they keep getting sick.”
• “I bet she wishes she hadn’t married that black guy now.”
• “Maybe if they weren’t so poor I’d help them out.”
• “She’s just a complainer. Women do that.”

Those comments are brutal to read. They are incredibly wrong, and nobody should ever have to experience hearing that. However, we know that discrimination in healthcare is nothing new. Discrimination has a long history in the midst of medical care, from the medical community experimenting on people of color without their consent to the willful choices not to treat AIDS patients in the 80s and 90s.

Discrimination can be subtle

While those examples above may seem extreme, discrimination happens at the patient level every day. It shows up in the form of discrimination based on:

• race and ethnicity
• gender
• sexual orientation
• religion
• economic status
• physical disability
• mental disability
• certain medical conditions
• and more

When a healthcare professional discriminates, it will affect the level of care they give a patient. Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in this country, and many of those mistakes are the result of sub-standard care. Discrimination can lead to sub-standard care through:

• Misdiagnosis
• Missing a diagnosis altogether
• Failure to treat a condition
• Inattentiveness when performing procedures
• Failing to inform a patient of treatment available
• And more

If a doctor makes discriminatory comments about you or a loved one, find another doctor. Report the doctor to the proper licensing board as well as the agency they work for. If you have been harmed and you believe it was due to a provider’s discrimination, you have options.

We can help you get through this

If you or a loved one have suffered harm at the hands of a healthcare professional, and you believe it was due to discrimination, please seek legal assistance immediately. At The Weitz Firm, LLC we believe that nobody should suffer harm because they were discriminated against by a medical professional. We will work to secure the compensation you deserve, including:

• Compensation for all medical expenses related to the sub-standard care
• Coverage of lost wages if you cannot work
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Pain and suffering damages
• Possible punitive damages against the people responsible

When you need a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 267-587-6240.