Doctor Holding "Letter of Diagnosis" hostage!

[DiabeticInNY]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY


Please help! This cannot be legal, but if it is, I might have to move out of the country because I think it's BS! Here's the situation: I was summoned for jury duty recently, and knew immediately I wouldn't be able to serve because I am diabetic and on a strict eating/blood glucose monitoring schedule. If I fail to stay on schedule, my blood sugar plummets and I become disoriented and dizzy unless I eat something pronto. Then, I'd have to wait for that to take effect.

Anyway, I called the jury office (I'm in upstate NY-Rochester) and the woman on the phone told me that I would need a note from my doctor just stating that I have, in fact, been diagnosed with diabetes. Cinchy, right? WRONG. I haven't been to see my doc in a while because I've been busy moving, so I had this feeling that they would try to pull something. Lo and behold, I call their office and speak to the doc's husband who works in the office part time. He tells me that it is "up to her judgement" as to whether or not she will write this letter.

Uh, no! It is a FACT that I have diabetes, not an opinion. So, I insist that she writes this letter- I don't need her opinion I need her to attest that I am diagnosed with diabetes. They called me back about 20 minutes ago, saying that "Dr. N said that you (me) haven't had your follow up appt. or bloodwork done recently and that when you come in for your follow up, then you and her can talk about the letter". WHAT? How can this be legal? She is holding that letter hostage for the sake of getting her money by having me come into the office, wasting my time by getting the SAME bloodwork I had done months ago and that she has in my file. BTW, we just moved out of town, and her office is about 45 minutes from me now. She is behaving unethically at the very least, because this is my life she is screwing with. I honestly cannot be on a jury because of my health (so please don't lecture about doing my civic duty) or else I would go without question. Someone please help! What are my options here! I don't want to give in to her demands...not one bit.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by DiabeticInNY

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY


Please help! This cannot be legal, but if it is, I might have to move out of the country because I think it's BS! Here's the situation: I was summoned for jury duty recently, and knew immediately I wouldn't be able to serve because I am diabetic and on a strict eating/blood glucose monitoring schedule. If I fail to stay on schedule, my blood sugar plummets and I become disoriented and dizzy unless I eat something pronto. Then, I'd have to wait for that to take effect.

Anyway, I called the jury office (I'm in upstate NY-Rochester) and the woman on the phone told me that I would need a note from my doctor just stating that I have, in fact, been diagnosed with diabetes. Cinchy, right? WRONG. I haven't been to see my doc in a while because I've been busy moving, so I had this feeling that they would try to pull something. Lo and behold, I call their office and speak to the doc's husband who works in the office part time. He tells me that it is "up to her judgement" as to whether or not she will write this letter.

Uh, no! It is a FACT that I have diabetes, not an opinion. So, I insist that she writes this letter- I don't need her opinion I need her to attest that I am diagnosed with diabetes. They called me back about 20 minutes ago, saying that "Dr. N said that you (me) haven't had your follow up appt. or bloodwork done recently and that when you come in for your follow up, then you and her can talk about the letter". WHAT? How can this be legal? She is holding that letter hostage for the sake of getting her money by having me come into the office, wasting my time by getting the SAME bloodwork I had done months ago and that she has in my file. BTW, we just moved out of town, and her office is about 45 minutes from me now. She is behaving unethically at the very least, because this is my life she is screwing with. I honestly cannot be on a jury because of my health (so please don't lecture about doing my civic duty) or else I would go without question. Someone please help! What are my options here! I don't want to give in to her demands...not one bit.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

There is nothing illegal or unethical going on here. The doctor does not want to attest to a condition until she follows up with you. There is nothing sinister about that especially since you have not followed-up with this doctor in many months.

You are way too dramatic over this ~ move out of the country...that is hilarious...thank you for the chuckle.

If you have moved too far away to visit your doctor, find a new one. She is under no obligation to provide you with this letter.

[Some Random Guy]

Feel free to visit any other doctor and ask them to provide the letter writing service for you.

Or, contact your existing doctor and request copies of your medical records (which you will probably get for about $0.75 per page). Perhaps they contain info about your condition that could be accepted by the court.

And, no, your doctor is not doing anything illegal by refusing to provide a service for you without seeing you in person first. Nothing is being held hostage because the letter does not yet exist.

Millions of people in this country have diabetes and have very normal lives, including serving on a jury. You are asking for a letter which says that your diabetes is beyond your control and which will prevent you from serving on a jury. That is much more than merely being a diagnosed diabetic.

[tranquility]

I like the insisting part best. That's a sure way to get someone else to do something you want.

[ajkroy]

...and obviously diabetic bloodwork can never change, right? If it is done ONCE, then it is good FOREVER.

[lya]

DiabeticInNY,

Get a pharmacy printout of all your diabetic meds for the past year and get a printout of all your diabetic supply purchases for the past year, make sure each printout has your name, date of birth, and any other personal identifiers available. If time constraints prevent you from being able to do this, then take your current labeled meds with you. Take the either the printouts and/or your current labeled meds to the jury office at the appropriate courthouse and tell the clerk your story.

If that fails, appear for court and when you asked if there is any reason that prevents you from being on jury duty, tell the judge about your eating and blood glucose monitoring regimen. You will either be sent home or you will be assigned short cases, allowing you to check and eat before the start of a case and immediately after a case.

Your MD is under no obligation to do anything as regards a letter to the court.

Oh--and since you're so close to Canada, give it a try and let me know how you like it. If the current administration keeps it up, I just may join you!

[wyett717]

Just because you called called for jury duty doesn't actually mean you will serve. During the juror interviews, the judge will ask if there is any reason someone would not be able to serve on the jury. This will be your opportunity to rationally explain your situation. If the judge is not a complete jerk, you may be successful.

If the current administration keeps it up, I just may join you!

Copy that!

[JKBee]

As someone who evidently has "juror" somewhere on my forehead or something, I somehow get my yearly jury duty invitation. Then somehow I ended up on every jury I appeared for.

At the last jury induction, someone asked what would happen if they just didn't show up. The judge told them that this does happen often. Once they had such a thin jury pool that the sheriff sent deputies out to collect the prospective jurors from their homes, work, etc. They were then escorted into the jury pool room and, of course, most of them were dismissed for various reasons. At that point, the officers went downstairs and went onto the street, finding people at random and escorted them in for immediate jury duty. This worked and they finally got their jury.

Not to say this is what you should do, by any means, but it is always an option. However, just going in and telling the judge you can't go into a jury is adequate. And besides that, you will be paid the sum of the entire $15 that a juror gets paid each day, as well as mileage for both directions of your travel from home to the courthouse. It makes great spending change for me, at least, and it is always interesting to just be in a courtroom and listen to all the reasons why others can't serve.

If someone makes an objection, however, I have yet to see a lawyer that wanted them on the jury anyway.

Provided you did want to serve on a jury and you did have special needs, that is where the bailiffs come in. They are very careful to ask for recesses to see these needs are met.

[Proserpina]

Not to say this is what you should do, by any means, but it is always an option. However, just going in and telling the judge you can't go into a jury is adequate.

Not in this county is ain't. Not by a long shot, though it might be more common elsewhere.

And besides that, you will be paid the sum of the entire $15 that a juror gets paid each day, as well as mileage for both directions of your travel from home to the courthouse.

Again, not in this county. The sum varies by jurisdiction (and believe it or not mileage isn't always a given, either!).

(irrelevant but somewhat baffling: You get paid more in Fargo, ND than you do in most WA state jurisdictions. I still can't figure that out)

It makes great spending change for me, at least, and it is always interesting to just be in a courtroom and listen to all the reasons why others can't serve.

I don't wish to hijack the thread but this reminded me of an incident concerning a young lady, an emergency concerning her pet and what may be the worst misunderstanding ever witnessed in Pierce County, WA.

OP, Lya gave you a very practical suggestion. I'd take Lya's advice and go from there.

[Gail in Georgia]

MANY people have diabetes (and the numbers are increasing daily). Most are not so brittle that they cannot serve on jury duty, work a regular job, care for a family, etc.. I've had a number of new adult diabetics that are shocked to learn that being one doesn't automatically mean they'll qualify for a disability or can't live a perfectly normal life.

If you ARE that brittle a diabetic, you need to be followed closely by your physician..you know, that person you haven't bothered to see because you've been too busy moving; the person you now want to write a letter so you can get out of jury duty.

Gail

[lya]

To add to JKBee's recounting of the extent to which judges will go to get a jury--in a neighboring town, though they call it a city, the judge sent deputies to the local WalMart to round 'em up and bring 'em in! He got his jury pools filled, quickly.

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by DiabeticInNY

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY


Please help! This cannot be legal, but if it is, I might have to move out of the country because I think it's BS! Here's the situation: I was summoned for jury duty recently, and knew immediately I wouldn't be able to serve because I am diabetic and on a strict eating/blood glucose monitoring schedule. If I fail to stay on schedule, my blood sugar plummets and I become disoriented and dizzy unless I eat something pronto. Then, I'd have to wait for that to take effect.

Anyway, I called the jury office (I'm in upstate NY-Rochester) and the woman on the phone told me that I would need a note from my doctor just stating that I have, in fact, been diagnosed with diabetes. Cinchy, right? WRONG. I haven't been to see my doc in a while because I've been busy moving, so I had this feeling that they would try to pull something. Lo and behold, I call their office and speak to the doc's husband who works in the office part time. He tells me that it is "up to her judgement" as to whether or not she will write this letter.

Uh, no! It is a FACT that I have diabetes, not an opinion. So, I insist that she writes this letter- I don't need her opinion I need her to attest that I am diagnosed with diabetes. They called me back about 20 minutes ago, saying that "Dr. N said that you (me) haven't had your follow up appt. or bloodwork done recently and that when you come in for your follow up, then you and her can talk about the letter". WHAT? How can this be legal? She is holding that letter hostage for the sake of getting her money by having me come into the office, wasting my time by getting the SAME bloodwork I had done months ago and that she has in my file. BTW, we just moved out of town, and her office is about 45 minutes from me now. She is behaving unethically at the very least, because this is my life she is screwing with. I honestly cannot be on a jury because of my health (so please don't lecture about doing my civic duty) or else I would go without question. Someone please help! What are my options here! I don't want to give in to her demands...not one bit.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

I have a problem understanding why a diabetic person could not serve on a jury. In Ca., having just finished jury duty, court started at 10 am. There was a morning break, and we were done at 12 for lunch. After lunch, we were in court from 1:30-2:30 with a break, and then back from 2:45 to 4:30 when we were done.

Somehow I don't see how this could interfere with medications needs, proper diet or any other problems that a diabetic has. Because with this relaxed a schedule, if a person could not function, then I would have trouble understanding how they could function in any job, that would be longer, with few breaks and less down time.

[lealea1005]

I haven't been to see my doc in a while because I've been busy moving...

I'm kind of curious as to what OP means by the above statement? What's "in a while"...6 months...a year....more than a year?

The Physician is doing nothing illegal or unethical. As some one above already stated, the letter does not exist and is not a part of OP's medical record, therefore it is not being held "hostage". Given the fact that OP has been non-compliant with necessary follow up appoointments, the Physician isn't going to be foolish enough to attest to OP's current medical state.

[tranquility]

I have a problem understanding why a diabetic person could not serve on a jury.

Quite frankly, I believe this is more of a desire problem than an ability problem.

[Adalaide78]

My husband is diabetic. He requires a release form filled out annually to be able to keep his liscense. If he simply stoppped seeing his endochrenologist, for whatever reason I'm confidant she'd stop filling out the paperwork. I mean, why should she make that risk if she doesn't know his blood sugar is being properly maintained. That being said, there is absolutely no reason that being diabetic should exempt you from jury duty. If you are taking proper care of yourself the few hours at a time you'd be stuck in the courtroom shouldn't seriously affect your schedule. Low blood sugar is commonly from needing insulin doses adjusted or poor management, either of these require you to see your doctor for proper help. I'd suggest just making the appointment, although don't be surprised if a doctor says that there's no reason you can't serve.