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The comments were made by anesthesiologist Tiffany M. Ingham, MD, an employee of the Aisthesis anesthesia practice in Bethesda, MD, which the jury ruled should pay $50,000 of the $200,000 in punitive damages it awarded. Court records identify the plaintiff only as D.B., but they tell a story that illustrates how smartphone recordings can expose healthcare providers to significant liability.
D.B. was preparing for a colonoscopy in a Reston, VA, surgical center when he started a recording on his smartphone so he could capture the physician’s instructions to him. His phone was put in his personal belongings in a bag underneath the surgical...