Can a surgeon ethically drop a patient & cancel a scheduled surgery due to patient's injury lead to a pending lawsuit? i am in desperate need of a hip replacement due to traumatic impact to the hip from a fall. my case is pending and it looks like there

Your : Your surgeon should proceed with surgery after an informed concent. Fear from a lawsuit is never healthy . Prejudging patients is not moral.

This : This is a difficult question to answer. If a person is having a true medical or surgical emergency, then there are laws that require a hospital and a doctor to take care of that emergency problem for the patient. If it is an elective, non-emergency condition, then it is up to the doctor or surgeon and their personal and office policies as to what services they will offer or accept. It is not uncommon for medical or surgical offices to not accept a medical lien from an attorney's office or third party injury insurance company, waiting to see if payment is accepted in the future. Also there would be hospital fees for a major surgery, and some hospitals also may not accept this type of payment pending legal actions. The surgeon would not be able to perform the operation without the cooperation and availability of the hospital, as well as the anesthesiologist for the surgery too. It may also depend on the severity or expected surgical difficulty of the condition and the medical-legal risks that the doctor's office feels that they may be entering into. You may need to ask your attorney what he/she feels your options are for payments or coverage. The hippocratic oath has to do with offering the best and proper care, not causing harm, and not performing unnecessary or harmful treatments or procedures. I believe that the oath does not mandate that a doctor must take care of all patients for all conditions at the patient's request.