“You might think that this request is a bit bold”

While one would be heartened to see US Airways provide something of greater value to the doctor, he did in fact volunteer his time and services to assist the passenger. Complaining about not receiving adequate compensation makes him look rather petty.

My aunt called this airline–USELESS AIR. Now I know why!!

1. I don’t think the good doctor deserves a pair of free tickets to Tel Aviv, especially as it would create an expensive precedent in the future. Maybe he should just bill US Airways for 4hrs of his time at his usual rate (though he really doesn’t need to bill for his office overheads as he was on the plane.

2. I don’t know about anyone else, but I never schedule any activities for the first and last day of my vacation to give me adequate time to adjust to local conditions. No-one knows if their going to be delayed, unable to sleep on a particular flight or even sat next to a crying infant for the entire flight.

I’m not sure of the legal side of things, but I doubt doctors are allowed to stand by and do nothing when asked for help, are they?

A couple important points to those who commented that he “didn’t have to volunteer.” The reality is that he DID, in fact, have to volunteer. (Let me state that I am not a doctor or a lawyer, but I know a little something about this.)

There is a legal concept called “Duty of Care,” and another called “Law of Negligence.” Duty of care exists when a doctor-patient relationship is established, but ALSO exists when there is an emergency in which harm may come to a patient if a physician knowingly withholds care. Physicians’ Code of Ethics states: “Provide whatever assistance you can to any person with an urgent need for medical care.”

Further, courts are likely to find “duty of care” existed wherever it’s reasonably forseeable that harm may result due to withholding of care. That certainly applies in this case – especially since there was evidently no other doctor on board.

So the bottom line is, while he may have referred to his actions as volunteering, he had no choice BUT to provide services, both from a medical ethics as well as a legal standpoint. Had he not, and the patient died or suffered harm, he could have been SUED for malpractice!

Then there was a comment back there by “jonathan” in which he seems to think that taking the Hippocratic Oath means that he has to essentially give his services away for free. REALLY? So physicians are morally obligated to give away the skills that they spent tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and many years of their life learning? And they’re supposed to feed their families…how? (Maybe with donated bottles of champagne!) That’s definitely one of the most bizarre interpretations I’ve ever read of the Hippocratic Oath. Have you ever actually READ the Hippocratic Oath, “jonathan”? Go read it. Nowhere in there does it state that physicans are making a “promise” to work for free.

My vote lies with the majority in here who feel that he was treated very shabbily by USAir, and is entitled to actual compensation for his services. Whether he “volunteered” or not, this is what he does for a living, and USAir asked him to provide his services. They became his customer.

I also agree with those who feel that the two tickets to Tel Aviv were an excessive request…but the paltry, mostly-useless coupon was way too little (and the champagne was an insult.) At minimum he should have been refunded the price of his ticket. Failing that, then he should bill them for his services at his normal rate.

I’m really quite shocked at the number of people who think the doctor volunteered and should just suck it up and deal instead of being selfish (or shouldn’t have become a doctor in the first place if he didn’t want to help). Something tells me that had he not volunteered and we found out a doctor was on board and refused to volunteer, we’d be posting over 100 comments about how selfish and wrong he was and how someone should be doing something about his lack of concern for others.

He helped more than the two people whose medical needs he attended–he helped the entire plane, and the entire company. And it would NOT have been his decision to land or not land–it would have been the pilot’s. If the pilot made the decision not to land because of his presence and his attention to the two medical problems on board, I believe one could argue that the doctor just became a temporary employee of US Air. While we may not be comfortable with the fact that he asked to be compensated–or with the manner in which he asked–the fact is that he should be compensated in some way. And if US Air had done so instead of treating him worse than the guy who walks your dog, we would be having a very different conversation right now. It would be about how much US Air appreciates its passengers–and there would be far less than 100 comments.

Both USAirways and Dr. Pomeranatz are being tacky and petty. US Airways for failing to recognize the doctor’s contributions to the health of the ailing passenger and his contribution to ensure the flight’s timely arrival in Rome; and Dr. Pomerantz for kvetching about his mistreatment by US Airways.

I’m also trained professional, and if there’s an emergency situation, I feel nearly duty-bound to uphold my oath, whether or not I’m on vacation, and whether or not there’s a promise or expectation of future compensation. I’ve been congratulated by fellow passengers, and I’ve even been invited to sit at the Captain’s Table on one cruise. But then again, there have been times when I haven’t received a word of thanks, not even from the patient. But that’s just part of the career path we willingly and knowingly chose.

Every US Air should be shut down. Not necessarily for their usual lack of integrity in this instance, but because they are the worst in service and attitude, and the last two times my husband and I flew with them, my husband’s luggage was vandalized with valuables stolen. No amount of complaining on our part to US Air made a difference. I soon found out that US Air is infamous for ripping off luggage. That did it for me.

I think the doctor and his wife should’ve been given vouchers or refunded for the exact amount of their original round trip tickets to Rome. As usual, though, I’m sure US Air has figured out a way to blame the doctor for being a doctor.

@ LeeAnn, @ David

I am a physician, and have some legal background on this matter.

There is no LEGAL obligation for a physician or licensed health care provider to respond in this situation. There may be an ethical or moral responsibility to respond, and most health care providers WOULD respond because we feel it is the right thing to do.

The “patient abandoment” issue (which is a serious charge and can result in a loss of license) only applies when there is an ESTABLISHED patient-physician relationship. Also an Emergency Department cannot by Federal Law refuse care to anyone, but a individual physician, health care provider, or a private practice can refuse to see a patient, regardless of the situation, if there is no pre-existing patient-physician relationship. There is no patient-physician relationship in this situation. The passenger that was sick was a total stranger, and the doctor is acting as a good samaritan.

However, once the doctor is involved (ie has seen and assessed the patient), then there is a duty to treat, until the patient is stable or transferred to another facility (ie hospital, EMT, etc). If the doctor had evaluated the patient, and the patient was unstable, the doctor cannot walk away at this time. Of course, the simplest solution would be to defer to the US Airways ground doctor and divert the flight.

To put it in perspective. If I am driving down a highway, and I see an accident, do I (a) drive on and pretend nothing happened, or (b) do I stop and offer assistance? My wife and I would always do (b), not because we are health care providers but because we believe it is the RIGHT THING TO DO. I once had an attending tell me (a critical care surgeon) tell me that the safe thing to do is to drive on because you can be held liable.

In my opinion, US Air owes this good doctor at least the Tel Aviv tickets he’s requested, and probably should also refund his ticket for his Rome itinerary too.

Here you have an airline that imposed on one of its passengers to avert a major expense by the airline, and all they’re going to offer is a leftover bottle of bubbly from business class, probably “Scharffenberger California Sparkling Wine,” a bottle that retails for $15-25 and can’t even be called Champagne, and when he complains, they’re going to offer him $350 in vouchers that are difficult to redeem? I think not.

Let’s not forget, those “flight attendants [that] had allowed her to consume at least four bottles of wine and at least one small bottle of liquor,” probably sold them, for $35 in revenue for the airline.

US Air needs to step up and understand the value given to them by this generous doctor. How much would an unscheduled landing cost them? How much would the suit have cost to defend if they left this woman wherever they put down? I’m sure it’s a lot more than the $6,000 face value of two business class tickets.

Step up US Air. Do the right thing, and give this man a reward worthy of what he did for you.

Hey – if we ever have an issue with the flight crew [like disabled the result of a bird strike] and as a pilot capable of landing an aircraft, even one as large as a 737 – at THAT point I FULLY intend to file a salvage claim for the aircraft. While not the same as a doc helping a passenger – since my rear would be on the line as well – I dare say that I will speak to someone AT USAir during the incident to ensure proper compensation. And have them sign a standard marine salvage form prior to my landing. Before, the sheer Walter Mitty joy of landing the aircraft would have given me stories for life – but now- hey – 10% of market value as salvage means I’ll never work again. . . .

Given enough time – its bound to happen to somebody.

in my opinion…

Doctors of Voluntary Charity with a Catch should carry a lanyard sign with him next time he travels. “MD may be in. But if you wake me, be forewarned that Emergency Air Medicine on my valuable vacation time is $300 per hour plus inconvenience fees (or some other fabulous airline perks), otherwise you’re SOL at 30, 000 feet and you should land the plane.” That will make the expectation of bold-faced compensation perfectly clear before he decides to save a life (or not). Why Chris Elliott is conflicted is beyond me. What a selfish, self-important approach to life to expect (and ask for) compensation for saving a fragile human life in need of help at high altitude…high skilled, multi-year specialized training or not.

I think both parties are being petty. The doctor was generous enough to help the sick passenger. US Airways should have compenstated him for that flight or a future flight. His wife should not get anything since she did not render any services. A decision should have been made before the plane landed, or shortly thereafter. At a bare minimum I think the doctor could have charged the airline for his time and services.

On the other hand, he clearly said he did not ask for anything after the flight. As a matter of fact, it sounds like he didn’t give it a second thought until he scheduled another vacation and decided to see if the airlines would pay for it.

I also find it amusing that he treats the July vacation like it was a long needed break from work to treat his wife for her birthday, yet he schedules another expensive trip just three months later. To me, it doesn’t sound like this vacation was extrodinary, but rather just another ho-hum trip. Most people save up for years to be able to travel overseas.

Bottom line: He should be comp’d for his time or a refund of his ticket/free future ticket. He is not entitled to a ticket for his wife since she was just another passenger like the other 100+ people that were probably on the same flight. The airline shouldn’t dish out whatever he asks for. People need to keep in mind that the airliens has a business to run, too. Angry passengers seem to think they can just get whatever they want because the money flows on trees. It’s not true. Not everyone gets or deserves a happy ending.

His sleep might equally have been interrupted for 4 hours by a crying baby- would he expect compensation in that case?

If he is to send a bill to anybody, it should be to the passengers he provided medical services to.

If every airline were to give 3000 dollars in compensation to every doctor who helps out on a flight, there would be a lot of bankruptcys. This is just greed by the selfish doctor

Chris, to answer your original question: yes, send this back to US Airways. It will be interesting to see if someone with a modicum of intelligence will step up to the plate and (finally) do the right thing. We’ll leave it to them to decide what that is — but $175 vouchers? An insult.

(BTW, US blew a magnificent opportunity for some great PR. They could have presented him with both a plaque and a couple of free tickets for saving a passenger’s life. Imagine the great publicity it would have generated. Instead…)

Correction, I am the proprietor of http://usairsucks.org. I can’t even spell my own domain name today.

Hi Mr. Elliott:

I definitely agree with Peter B. Richardson, TX September 1, 2009 at 2:53 pm post, and that of Michelle’s at 3:01 pm that this doctor did much more than anyone, including the flight attendants responsibilities doing laborwise, and timewise on this flight to his wife’s 50th birthday celebration!

He spent 4 hours plus of his time going above and beyond the initial request for “Emergency Assistance from a doctor,” plus was asked to aid another very ill passenger with a blood pressure reading of 240/140, (Which is a heartattack or stroke waiting to happen).

He damn well should have been given a reimbursement for his total flight expense to Italy on the spot when he was getting off the plane in Italy, not a lousy bottle of champagne!!! He deserves what he is asking for, 2 free airlines tickets to his next vacation in Israel!

It is to the advantge of any airline to have a medical professional aboard who is willing and able to care for a passenger during an emergency. How foolish of Us Airways to belittle this man’s service..By my calculations, using my primary care physician as a reference point. ( she charges $300. per 15 minute appt.) Dr. Pomerantz rendered some $4800 worth of care to USAirways passengers, under less than ideal conditions…UsAirways takes no responsibility for creating part of this problem by serving this passenger copious amounts of liquor, and seems ungrateful, for not having to make an emergency landing, boarding a new crew, accomodating passengers who will miss their connections, etc..
Dr. Pomerantz in treating this woman opened himself to the possibility of a liability suit if she did not recover, in addition to tons of paperwork..For his effort a bottle of Champange? The tickets to Tel Aviv, should be first class, accompanied by his hotel accomadations..And a BIG thanks for a job well done….How cheap would that be for the good will and PR that this ailing airline needs…what is the matter with todays companies that they can’t figure this out? Totally dumb…

At the very least, the airline should have refunded the price of the flight during which the doctor worked. He DID save them many, many THOUSANDS of dollars.

Folks, the bottle of Champaigne was not from corporate US Airways. It was a token of thanks from the flight attendants. Think about it. Those people do not have the authority nor do they have access to free flight vouchers. They only have what’s on the aircraft. They were no doubt appreciative of the doctor’s efforts and would probably, if they had the authority, give him free flights for a year. I would bet they thought their superiors in Phoenix would have properly “thanked” the doctor. The bottle was just their way of saying “thanks from the crew.”

I don’t think the doctor’s request is unreasonable at all. He efforts saved USAirways the tens of thousands of dollars making an emergency landing would have cost them: landing fees, hotels and food for passangers, missed connections, etc. I think the airline should bend over backwards to thank the doctor and two tickets to Tel Aviv doesn’t sound unreasonable to me at all.

US should have offered the doctor more than it offered. The bottle of wine was an insulting gesture given how much help the doctor offered.

In any event, given the flight was over international waters, no US laws (duty to care, etc.) prevail and so the doctor could have kept quiet and not done anything. Although I suspect most doctor’s sense of the Hippocratic Oath would move them to help the patient.

This scenario is like the Dave Carroll and UA breaking his guitar. Treat your customers fair from the beginning and these unnecessary byproducts don’t arise.

What I ponder about is how many doctors are now going to read what happened here and then think twice about getting this involved without explicit agreement for compensation, etc. I’m not saying that doctor’s are selfish beings but they are human after all and if the airline has a ground based doctor to help, perhaps this doctor doesn’t want to get dragged into this mess knowing they would only receive a bottle of wine as a form of appropriate thanks. (There is no way to word this paragraph without sounding horrid but I hope you get my gist.)

This my opinion as a flight attendant for a major airline, not USAirways, for the past nearly 18 yrs.
Unfortunately situations like this medical emergency are somewhat common on airplanes and thankfully we often have medical staff – doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc. – onboard who are willing to voluntarily assist in the care of ill passengers inflight. I in no way intend to diminish the amazing help that doctors offer us onboard our flights when medical emergencies have emerged, however, I do have a strong opinions about this Dr’s request for payment in the form of RT intl flights for himself & his wife and further asserting that he saved USAirways quite a bit of expense in having not needed to divert due to the care he was administering his ‘patient’. He also saved himself (& his wife & fellow pax) a disruption in his own trip plans Italy. Yes, he was tired when he arrived, but he arrived seemingly near on-tine.
This man is a doctor, it is his oath to administer care to a sick person – whether it is in his office or in a public arena … it is my ‘oath’ as a flight attendant that I will administer any care possible to anyone who needs it when I am in uniform regardless of whether I am on the airplane or anywhere else. This is actually in my ‘code of conduct’ and I am happy to do so and do not expect compensation.
With that said, it is my airline’s practice to offer a dr 5000 miles as a ‘thank you’ for any ‘significant’ help or care given to pax or crew in need of medical care. It is not meant as payment, it is merely a token of our appreciation. And, in my experience, I have never had a doctor ever expect payment or reparations for disrupting his trip due to the administering of care to a patient who needed it. I find his request to be over the top and presumptuous about what the airline owes him for his care administered to a critical pax. If he felt so overtaxed by the needs of this pax, he should have asked the crew to page for another doctor on board – I would be extremely surprised if there hadn’t been one as I have always had more than 1 offering their help.
In my opinion, he is playing the martyr card and trying to get a free ticket for doing the right thing for another human being – the ‘right thing’ that he is trained to do. Consider the future repercussions, if all doctors felt that there care should be compensated onboard an aircraft for an unanticipated medical emergency…

I think the yahoo doctor was rude to ask for compensation. If you volunteer you are doing just that. He is greedy as well.

whats worse than being greedy is that he risked the lives of the rest of the passengers. the ground doc was right to recommend landing.

1. one was a psychotic patient who could have risked the lives of everyone on the plane by unexpected dangerous actions. You calm the patient down if possible and then you land ASAP.
2. the other one was having a hypertensive emergency. his BP was very high and he was experiencing neurologic symptoms. This is a straight to the ICU admission, he was at high risk of a stroke. by landing the plane at the destination he almost compromised the life of that patient.

In addition, its obvious he is most likely a resident and not a board certified physician (since he works the resident maximum 80 work hours). This makes me have serious doubts about his experience and I worry about his recklesness….

The TLV tickets are way too much and the doctor was exceedingly tacky to ask for that much compensation.

Let’s flip this around for a minute. Let’s assume for a minute that the doctor did not volunteer to assist and that the decision was made to divert to Dublin, Glasgow or London. A diversion would take a few hours at least, between dealing with the immediate medical issue, re-fueling, filing a new flight plan and hoping that in the meantime the crew didn’t “time out”, especially if there had been any departure delay. What would the doctor have been writing had he, at a minimum, been delayed? His trip would have been ruined for the first day or so and he doesn’t seem the type to have held back on a complaint letter if that had been the case.

The doctor was tacky to ask for compensation. The airline, on receiving the flight attendants irregularity and medical reports should have pro-actively and quietly offered something in the range of a $500.00 voucher. That would have been appropriate and would have put a much better spin on the who issue.