The physician when sending in his bill should be specific in his charges and not general; he should give the number of visits and dates. In one case a lump charge of “$13 for medicine and attendance on one of the general’s daughters |23| in curing the whooping cough,” being objected to by the valiant officer, was held by the Court to be too loose to sustain an action [36]. Where a practitioner brought an action for a bill consisting of a great number of items, and gave evidence as to some of them only, and the jury gave a verdict for the whole amount of the bill, the Court refused to interfere and grant a new trial because every item was not proved [37]. Where a medical man delivered his bill to a patient without a specific charge, leaving a blank for his attendance, the Court inferred that he considered his demand in the light of a “_quiddam honorarium_,” (this was before the Medical Act), and intended to leave it to the generosity of the patient, and the latter having paid into court a certain amount, the Court held the surgeon was bound by the amount so paid and could not recover any more [38]. As a rule, however, if a doctor’s bill is not paid when presented he is not limited by it to the amount of his claim, if he can show that his services were of greater value [39]. When witnesses are called to speak as to the value of the practitioner’s services the Courts generally incline towards the lowest estimate [40].
The number of visits required must depend on each particular case, and the physician is deemed the best and proper judge of the necessity of frequent visits; and in the absence of proof to the contrary, the Court will presume that all the professional visits made were deemed necessary and were properly made [41]. There must not be too many _consultations_; and the physician called in for consultation or to perform an operation may recover his fees from the |24| patient, notwithstanding that the attending practitioner summoned him for his own benefit and had arranged with the patient that he himself would pay [42].
Where a medical man has attended as a friend, he cannot charge for his visits. This was held in one case where it was proved that the practitioner had attended the patient as a friend, upon the understanding that he was to have refreshments and dinners free of charge; and in another case, where a medical man had attended professionally, for several years, a lady with whom he was on terms of intimacy (but received no fees, except once, when he had prescribed for her servant). The day before her death this lady had written to her executors, asking them to remunerate the doctor in a handsome manner, and moreover in her will she gave him a legacy of £3,000 and a reversionary interest in £6000 more. It was proved that he had attended others without having taken fees or sent in bills. It was held that his services had been tendered as for a friend, and accepted as a friends, and his demand as a debt against the assets of the lady was rejected [43]. One would have thought that the physician in this latter case should have been satisfied.