Did you sign a contract before you paid thousands & thousands to someone you don't really know, for a dodgy surgical procedure, in a foreign jurisdiction? Or was it just a, "Gentlemen's agreement..." I'm curious
Jurisdiction's the last thing on your mind when your legs don't work. Finding the right doctor is top priority.
Is this really a concern since you are using a reputable doctor from Germany?
If you were going to India, China, or Russia then yeah, I'd be afraid of getting ripped off. But in Germany?
I would be concerned about Dr. Salemeh's deposit policy though. Dr. Paley has a non-refundable $10,000 deposit I think, in case you back out for whatever reason. Does Dr. Salemeh do the same?
Is there a way to get your money back if you back out or get sick before or something?
CCMidWest - I had a contract for the extension that was built on my house. Getting my legs done is a much bigger deal. If things go wrong? If I have a dispute? How do you prove exactly was actually agreed, or obtain satisfaction? Doctors are service providers. Reputations? My BS detector twitches at such rhetoric. Call me a cynic...
Penguinn - of course, finding a top doctor is a given... Have you lengthened yourself? What arrangements did you make, matey?
Me again.
Has *anyone* exchanged anything more formal than emails prior to lengthening? There are more Regs for getting your Sheep slaughtered at home than going abroad for LL! Would you buy property, a business, a car, in Italy, Germany, India, wherever, on the basis of some emails? Do even know how their medical & legal systems work (or even your own, for that matter?). Your flight has a contract. Your surgeon has a contract with their local hospital. Why would you go under the knife without one? Do you know what your legal rights are if it doesn't work out? I don't, which is why I'm asking... So, speak up. Tell me to shut up if you like, but do it from an informed position...
My first thought is that you are fortunate to be going to a civilized, fully-developed First World country.
My experience in India was like going to another planet, in some ways. No, I had no contract before I sent any of the installments of money over there. And I didn't learn until later that the money was not going to Dr. Sringari, or even Paras Hospital, but to the The Wizard (the mysterious Guest House Manager...whose identity most everybody knows).
When I was checking in for surgery, I signed a couple forms...nothing like the mountain of paperwork one gets here in the US. I think I wrote in my diary about how there was NOTHING about emergency contacts. Lying on a gurney in pre-op I literally had to ask for a scrap of paper --on which I wrote down my parents and friends contact info -- then I pressed that into Dr. Sringari's hand right before my frame installation surgery.
I don't know how things have changed now that you will be a non-EU citizen, but I figure that the simple act of getting an attorney in Germany is something that seems feasible.
Oh Dear. Good Heavens... what am I getting myself into... Bigfaker, do you ever look back & feel, like, giddy? (1st edit - wasn't my choice to leave the EU. I'm devastated. I'd rather leave England...)
Quote from: paddy10tellys on July 06, 2016, 04:50:54 PMCCMidWest - I had a contract for the extension that was built on my house. Getting my legs done is a much bigger deal. If things go wrong? If I have a dispute? How do you prove exactly was actually agreed, or obtain satisfaction? Doctors are service providers. Reputations? My BS detector twitches at such rhetoric. Call me a cynic...
Penguinn - of course, finding a top doctor is a given... Have you lengthened yourself? What arrangements did you make, matey?
You cynic! lol
I would lawyer up, as bigfaker said.
Quote from: Bigfaker on July 06, 2016, 09:20:49 PMMy first thought is that you are fortunate to be going to a civilized, fully-developed First World country.
My experience in India was like going to another planet, in some ways. No, I had no contract before I sent any of the installments of money over there. And I didn't learn until later that the money was not going to Dr. Sringari, or even Paras Hospital, but to the The Wizard (the mysterious Guest House Manager...whose identity most everybody knows).
When I was checking in for surgery, I signed a couple forms...nothing like the mountain of paperwork one gets here in the US. I think I wrote in my diary about how there was NOTHING about emergency contacts. Lying on a gurney in pre-op I literally had to ask for a scrap of paper --on which I wrote down my parents and friends contact info -- then I pressed that into Dr. Sringari's hand right before my frame installation surgery.
I don't know how things have changed now that you will be a non-EU citizen, but I figure that the simple act of getting an attorney in Germany is something that seems feasible.
Holy sh*t, really?
As much as I hate the US medical system...maybe I should be more grateful to be in a 1st world country. That's some scary sh*t.
I had to fill out a consent form along with some other papers, one of which was a medical history chart, iirc. Also had to give an emergency contact - Dr Parihar will not perform CLL on you without one and requires that a friend or relative of yours is informed that you intend to go through the surgery.
Thx Kilokahn & Bigfaker for confirming what I suspected. A signed consent form & medical notes are what a Doc obtains to cover his/her Ass against future criticism or legal penalties. Any secondary benefit they provide to the poor Patient is accidental & definitely not what those bits of paper are all about. I know. I am one (a Doc & a Patient). What ought to happen but often doesn't is this: The Doc should sign a contract with the patient that describes terms & conditions related to the patient's fees & the patient's health. Part of that should be a summary of his bona fides, e.g., his qualifications, surgical stats & malpractice insurance (all independantly verified) & an outline of risks & complications, e.g., what might happen, how it will be sorted if it does & who will pick up the tab?
To assume that the doc is honest/competent/honourable a priori, is an error. Consider dating, if you will: both parties refrain from revealing any negatives. They think they love each other... It is usually after the marriage or the deal — when it is impossible or extremely difficult to undo a transaction — that negatives come to light.
It's a lot easier to sort out with a prenup...
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