Sue the Patient
Viroj Wiwanitkit MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
The author was consulted by the nurse in charge who had responsibility for specimen collection. The
nurse stated that she felt very upset because, she was shouted at, with rude words, and accused of being “bad”
by a patient. The nurse explained that the patient felt angry because she did not allow the patient to break the
queue line. This nurse asked if she could notify the police and sue the patient. This is an interesting case as
there is an additional fact. The patient sent a complaint to the hospital for this scenario complaining about the
medical service behavior of this nurse. The points to be discussed include:
1. Complaints from patients are simple things in the present medical service system as service is based
on accountability. Detailed analysis and preventive planning can be managed based on a routine risk
management system(1-3).
2. The interesting query is if the medical personnel can sue the patient. Suing a patient by medical
personal has never been done in Thailand. Despite the high rate of suing in Western countries, the case of a
patient suing medical personnel has never been in the news. Although, if attempted, suing in this scenario
might lead to several problems.
3. How to solve this scenario? There are many solutions. Finding the facts for the patient complaint
must be performed using good judgment. This can relieve the stress of the medical personnel. The medical
personnel should be encouraged to use the Buddhist principle(4) Brahma-Vihara 4 (Four Sublime States). This
will calm the medical personnel and prevent them from being upset when they meet a patient who might
present a rude manner due to illness(5). In addition, the medical personnel should adapt to give the best service
to the patient.
Keywords : Sue, Medical ethics
