An attorney I’m friends with related a story about a case he was working on. The injured worker was getting injections in to his back for a chronic injury. He went to his doctor and said, “If this doesn’t work I’m going to come back and kill you” and apparently he didn’t say it in a very joking manner.
The cops were called and of course the doctor fired the patient and barred him from the office. Yes, a doctor can fire you if they want.
As someone who has a torn rotator cuff and has had back and knee injuries over the years (none of them work related), I can certainly understand how frustrating it is when an injury does not heal. But threatening a doctor is going to do nothing, but land you in jail. Same is true if you threaten the insurance adjuster, other lawyer or anyone else. And even if you don’t land in jail, it makes you look crazy to the Arbitrator. I’ve seen plenty of cases lost because armed security was needed because people were scared that the worker would hurt someone (no one I’ve represented fortunately).
Personally, I would fire any client that did this and every lawyer I work with would too. It’s just not worth the hassle. We fight for our clients, but don’t want clients who fight.
So even if it will make you feel better to vent, don’t do it in a threatening way. Feel free to tell your doctor how frustrated you are. Feel free to tell me. I’ve had days when my job isn’t to be an attorney, but to just be a friend and listen. We are happy to do that. But we’ll also tell you when you are wrong. And if you threaten anyone you are not only wrong, you are ruining your case.
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