The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-03-20 00:00:00

PHYSICIANS' FEES.

In the Rolls' Court, the cause of Sanger v. Sanger.
ex.parte Dr. James Clark. has been decided, and was a
claim made by a medical man against an estate' in
respect of attendance upon tee° wards of Court, and is
of considerable importance' inasmuch as it involves the
question on what scale of fees a physician who carries
on a general practice is entitled to be paid.
The case came on on Satuviay, upon an appeal
Dr. Clark, of St. Mark's-square, Primrose-hill, from
the decision of the chief clerk, who allowed £e2 135.,
the amount of Dr. Clark's bill being £3lO. The facts

are as follows :
Until 1862, Dr. Clark, (who holds the degree of M.D. of
Edinburgh', practised at Penton-street, Pentonville, London,
carrying on there a general practice. In that year he nought,
for t:300, the practice at 7.. t. Mark's-srpiare of a person who
was not a physician, lint who had, three mouths before,
bought the practice of Dr. Goodchild, now of Leamington.
Amongst Or. Goodelllld's and his successor's patients was
a boarding school at St. John's-wood, anil in 186.5 Dr Clark
was called in by the schoolmistress to attend the two
daughters of Mr. William Sanger, whwe estate is berg ad-
ministered tn the Rolls Court The two young holies had
been placed at this school. The elder of them hail a slight
illne-s which did not keep her from her school duties, and
Dr. Claik visited bee twenty-nine times, charging £2O Os, lid.;
being XI is a visit when he saw her alone, and Its. 6d a
visit when he saw her sister on the same day. About the
same time her younger sister, a child of eleven, had the
mewles, anti after her apparent recovery, a disease of the
mesenteric glands set in, arid she was for seine time in
danger. Sir William Jounce was called in, and saw het
twice, during the progress of the disease. Dr. Clark
sent in to the guardians, in respect of his attendance
on this young lady, a till it (C 289 16s, being at the rate
of a guinea for every visit on the patient, whether he saw
her sister on the same day or not, and for visits whilst ill of
the measles as well as for visits when 11l if the severer
complaints Dr. (lark supplied all the medicines. In the
summer the child went to Worthing., mai Dr. Clark assert-
ing it to be ue.:essary for iiim to visit her there, went twice,
and char,eil thirty guineas for each journey. Nearly four
months afterwards the schoolmistress took the child to
Brighton, and Dr Clark still asseriing that ho must watch
the child, went cowls three times to Brighton, and charged
twenty-live guineas for each journey. He attended the
schoolmistress also, who was then very M. :Cooly all the
country visits were paid on SillidaYS, and the guardians
denied having requested or (authorised them. After all these
charges for moiessional visits to the patient Dr. Clark
charged forty guineas for letters to, calls on, and consulta-
tions wills solicitors aid other persons interested in the suit,
and in respect of conversations with Dr. Jenner about the
case when the patient was not seen. The guardians resisted
the claim, and hones the decision of the chief clerk, and the
present appeal.
Dr. Clark's counsel, whilst admitting that the
claim seemed large, contended that there was no fixed
tariff of charges even for general practitioners. That
doctors are justified in raising their charges in propor-
tMn to the means of the patient and the severity of
the ailment, and that circum.tances in the case made it
necessary for Dr. Clark to watch the patient with more
than ordinary care. They would not contend that the
whole sum of £3lO could be recovered, but, at any rate,
more than the £B2 allowed by the chief clerk should be
given. It should be stated that the chief clerk had
disallowed the visits to Brighton. The guardians had
tendered £lO5 in discharge of the bill. In the course
of some remarks by the counsel for Dr. Clark, on
charges in proportion to the means of wards,
His Lordship observed that if claims of this sort
were encouraged, the Court of Chancery Would lay itself
opens to the accueation (frequently brought against it)
of being the devourer of the estates of orphans.
At the conclusion of Dr. Clark's case, His Lordship
asked if the tender of t 1.05 WM repeated, and being
told it was, said that be considered it in excess of what
Dr. Clark was entitled to ; therefore he should dismiss
the summons, with costa from the time of the offer
having been first made. His lordship said that he
should have disallowed the charges for journeys to the
country and have reduced the charges for visits to
town, and should have disallowed aluinp sum of forty
guinea& charged for visits to solicitors and other persons
interested in the suit. If the arguments of the
claimant's counsel prevailed, doctors might make what
charges they pleated, according to the fortune of a
patient, and it would be necessary to make a special
oargain with a doctor before employing him.

On Saturday, in last week, aecrew steam corvette of
ten guns, called the Druid, was launched at Deptford.
Their Royal- Highnesses Prince Arthur and Princess Louise
were present, and the vessel received its name from the
latter. Unusual interest was attached to the event, from its
being in all probability the last vessel built at this long
famcUs dozkyard, which the Government iu its present at
of Economy. Is about to close. It was here that the Pelican,
the first ship that sailed round the world, was constructed,
and on its return Admiral Drake entertained Queen
Elizabeth on board the vessel, which was anchored opposite
the slip from which it had been launched. Many a ship
famous in English history was built at this dockyard, and it
was there where Peter the iireat learnt the art of naval con
strnotlon,