March 2005

Suing PI attorneys and patients in small claims court

by Dr. Geoff Ricchio

In my 18 years of active practice I have found it necessary to sue attorneys and sometimes patients in personal injury cases. It's a sad but true fact that attorneys in auto accident and slip and fall cases try to cut the doctor's bill even if there is a satisfactory settlement in the case.

Make no mistake, attorneys care solely about their clients' happiness, not yours. The attorneys will always whine in the end about the "poor settlement" or that their client (your patient) needs to see "more money" in the case and so wants you to "take a cut" in your bill so that the client is happy. I've seen many doctors across the country even receive verbal threats of blackmail and physical injury if they didn't reduce their bill. What a scam!

First of all, the most important thing to remember about Personal Injury (PI) cases is that most of the patients are in it for the money. That's right, I said it! Your patients are looking for the pot of gold at the end of the settlement and see you many times as the taxi service driving them to a big bank account.

I was sued for malpractice eight years ago by a "friend!" She was a close patient and friend of the family who had been involved in an auto accident and was, of course, treated at my office.

Let me tell you how close this patient was. Two years prior to the accident, she was a paraplegic from a work injury and was unable to walk. Through chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition, she recovered from her fractured spine and walked without difficulty ‑‑ all from chiropractic care.

She naturally became a close friend of my family, coaching my daughter's soccer team and referring all her friends and family to chiropractic care. Yet, when she was in the auto accident, it seemed that everything changed. At the end of the case when the money was to be paid, she wanted me to take a 75% cut in my bill because ‑‑ and I quote ‑‑ "Little Jimmy is going to college soon. I have credit card bills I need to pay. I need to go on a vacation." This patient essentially informed me that she couldn't have cared less about how much work I'd done to assist her recovery and that she simply wanted the money.

When I refused to cut my bill 75%, she then sued me for "injuring her!"

Fortunately, this story ended happily. Because I was prepared and had all of the paperwork signed and approved by the patient months before (with a special PI stamp I'd created) the malpractice case was dropped. I then sued her in small claims court for 110% of the bill and got all the money.

The moral of the story you must understand is that patients, attorneys and insurance companies in auto accident and slip and fall cases don't want to pay you. Ultimately, they want to take your money!

The steps you as the treating doctor must take to get properly paid are now more important than ever! These steps are:

***  Always bill the patients PIP or Med pay in the PI cases. If the patient refuses to give this information to you, this should inform you that the patient or attorney will rip you off in the end.

***  Get the patient to sign an LOP or attorney lien and send it "Certified Mail Return Receipt." You must prove to the court (if it goes to small claims court) that the attorney received and knew about your lien.

***  Have the patient "sign‑off" on his or her bills. I have a special stamp that I created years ago that the patients sign and date. It says: All itemized services were needed and necessary ... I have no ill effects from the treatment given me ... I have reviewed the dates of service and find them to be accurate ... all charges are to be paid at 100%.

By having the patients sign this on each of their superbills, I have avoided most collection problems in PI cases. If a problem arose, I was well covered because the patient had signed off on all of his or her bills and, hence, had to pay all the fees.

This also works incredibly well for those PI cases where the attorney is threatening you with a chiropractic board inquiry, insurance commissioner review, or a lawsuit.

If you stand strong and confident in your paperwork, records and collection procedures, you will never again get ripped off by patients, attorneys or insurance companies in PI cases.

(Geoff Ricchio D.C. is creator of the Get Paid Small Claims System now used by more than 4,000 physicians of all specialties to collect outstanding health care claims. He has also created the Get Paid Autodebit System, The Rub Club Massage Income System, MRI Income System, and 40‑60 New Patient System. He is a nationwide health care consultant to doctors and hospitals. Dr. Ricchio can be reached at 831‑GET PAID or e‑mailed at drgeoffricchio@aol.com.)