The ABC is reporting that doctors could be sued for being late to appointments, according to several lawyers:

The Downs and South West Law Association's Darryl Cox says some people are waiting up to an hour for appointments, costing them time and money and doctors need to stop over-booking.

"If it's the case that the doctor's practice is to just book people at random and essentially over-book the people, then it may well be the case that people who are forced to wait because of the over-booking may well have a claim against the doctor," he said.

The chairman of GP Connections in Toowoomba, Dr John Lamb, says doctors are not deliberately trying to make people late.

"I could also respond by saying that if a patient has a right to take legal action against the doctor because the doctor's running late, does that mean the doctor also has the ability to take legal action against the patient if they're late or don't turn up?" he said.

He says given the current doctor shortage, patients should be more understanding.

Indeed. Owing a duty to not be late could erode what little semblance of unstructured time we have left. It would reduce the quality of care provided to patients and cause irreparable damage to the way in which professionals and clients interact. Whilst it's perfectly reasonable to set minimum standards of care in respect of the quality of medical treatment provided, to impose a remedy for, er, 'breach of appointment' is for the law to make an unwarranted intrusion upon the private affairs of citizens.

Naturally, it could afford me a suitable cause of action against those blasted public transportation services. But if my own experience is anything to go by, moral culpability rarely goes with impunctuality: it's simply a fact of modern life that, as interactions become more complex and a greater number of factors have the potential to intervene to cause delay, it is a task of increasing difficultly to remain on time.

These would-be plaintiffs should bring a book, laptop or, failing that, an MP3 player with them into the waiting room. Then again, if they have time to contemplate bringing legal action over something as trifling as a late doctor, they probably don't have all that much to do.

Originally by Walter Olson at Overlawyered, 2:54 PM

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