A doctor named John Drew Laurusonis and two of his assistants in Georgia have been accused of locking a woman in an examination room “when concerns arose about her ability to pay the bill.” The three were indicted last week on charges of false imprisonment for the October 4th, 2007 incident.
For several hours, the staff refused to allow her to leave, locking her in for periods of time, [her attorney Joseph] Fried said. They had her log into her bank records from a computer while she was there, he said. “They said, ‘Don’t you have anyone who loves you who can come and help you? Because you’re not leaving until this bill is paid,’ ” Fried said. “They made her feel like she was a criminal. She was made to feel like she couldn’t leave without something bad to happen to her.”
One reason the patient couldn’t pay was that she was charged nearly eight times more for the visit than she was initially told by clinic employees, from $98 to $755.
The patient, Frances Bales, was described as “less assertive than other people”—by her attorney, no less. We hope Bales remembers to bring a Taser or pepper spray to her next appointment. In fact, maybe all patients of Dr. Laurusonis should make sure friends and family know where they’re going and how long they expect to be gone, just in case there are any billing problems.
“Police: Clinic workers imprisoned patient who couldn’t pay” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] (Thanks to Deborah!)
(Photo: Getty)
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@CaptainConsumer: How does this fool stay in business?!?!
He overcharges, he’s an asshole, AND they’re all incompetent?
I can only assume that his practice survives on new patients who don’t do any research before going to him.
I hope all of this comes out in the trial.
Hate to bother “y’all” with some of my fancy Canadian “book words” but don’t “y’all” have the Hypocratic oath down there anymore?
Or is that something the “terrorists” want to use to hate “Ameurrica”
Derka Der everyone! DERKA DER.
@vgerik1234: No, the equivalent to “washing dishes” would have been something like filing or answering the phone or some other routine low-skill chore not involving the hurt arm too much. Cthulhu knows I would have jumped at the chance to work off a doctor bill that way when I was poor and working secretarial temp jobs.
@Marko_Vulvic: I thought Canadians said ‘eh’, not ‘y’all’.
@Concerned_Citizen: Sending her to collections probably won’t have the effect you think it will.
@kublaconsumer: You’re an idiot.
See, Consumerist group-think isn’t always bad.
To Jaggurnaut and all other people that is concerned with this maybe you should do a little research and you would see that “She satisfied her bill in FULL”, she just did not have the money in her bank account and had live checks in her vehicle and they would not let her leave to cash them! Once she threatened to call the police they finally let her leave to cash her checks and she returned 90 minutes later to pay the bill in full and then filed a police report.
I have read many of the comments and I do not know whether to laugh or cry. How can you people make a judgment without really knowing the facts. I know them and if any of you would take the time, you could have known them. Ms. Bales was NOT, I repeat,NOT locked in a room. First of all, there are absolutely no locks on any of the doors. Also, she went out of the office at least 3 times for a cigarette. Before she went to the doctor, she knew that she did not have the money to pay and she thought she could get free medical care and then sue the doctor for more money. There is a case pending in Fulton at this time, and the truth will come out. Then all of you who were so fast to judge and bad mouth Dr. Laurusonis, who by the way is really a nice guy, can choke on all your words.