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the patient views the doctor as an “ambushing lion,” he is certainly the woman to pay him for curing her, since he hurt her and did not # 20818
not at peace. Since the poskim have not differentiated between the intent to cure her when he hit her.)
doctors’ levels of expertise, we can assume that even if the person who
caused damage is a physician more knowledgeable and experienced
than another physician, he still needs to pay for another physician to
treat the wounded party.
In view of the above, in our case, one should advise the patient and 3. A person broke a water tank and
the family to seek out another physician, since the patient is not at extinguished a house fire
peace with the doctor who damaged him. It is preferable to use the 1
services of another good physician, even if he is thought to be less of Question
an expert. During the period of miracles and wonders that Hashem, blessed be
Although the Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch omit this reason He, did for us in the war of 1948, the following miracle occurred: A
of “you appear in my eyes as an ambushing lion,” their omission is not Jordanian shell hit a house, setting it on fire. The next shell hit the
because this reason is rejected in halachah, but, rather, because the water tank on the roof of the house, and the water that poured out of
second reason is more inclusive and broader. the tank extinguished the fire and saved the lives of the inhabitants
However, I heard from my father-in-law, Rabbi Y. S. Elyashiv, that of the house.
all this refers to a physician who damaged because of his own negli- What would the halachah be if Reuven broke a water tank in order
gence or lack of attention. But if the damage was an ones, the patient to do harm, and the water that spilled saved the inhabitants of the
cannot say: “I have no peace of mind with you.” After all, the Gemara building from a fire caused by an electrical short circuit? Would Reu-
bases its assertion that the patient can claim “you appear to me as ven be obligated to pay for the tank and its water?
an ambushing lion” on the verse “He is a bear who ambushes me,
a lion in hiding” (Eichah, 3:10), which, as explained by the Alsheich, 1 AnsweR
refers to one’s enemy who lies in waiting to attack him. Certainly, this
description does not apply to a devoted physician who did his work There is reason to exempt him from paying for the damages, since the
in good faith but did not merit Divine assistance. Thus it seems that fire was already raging when he did it, and anyone would have done
one should give precedence to the expert physician, even though he what he did in order to save the building. Though his intentions were
did the damage, because the patient cannot say, “You appear to me as bad, his action saved lives.
an ambushing lion.” This is not comparable to the previous case regarding a careless
On the other hand, it may be preferable to choose another phy- driver who hit someone and thus saved him from a plane crash, be-
sician who will be paid for his work and thus will be more careful cause this is not the normal way of rescuing people! So, too, there is
than the first physician who would be doing the surgery free of charge no physician in the world who would sanction throwing a mute per-
in order to repair the damage he wrought. As the Rambam and Tur son into the air and breaking his ribs in order to cure muteness. But
write, the reason to give preference to another physician is because “a in this case, the normal method of extinguishing a fire is by breaking
physician who heals for nothing is worth nothing.” the water tank.
Nonetheless, if the surgeon caused damage by ones, he is preferable [There is room to argue just the opposite as well. In the case of the
68 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Removed the Wrong Kidney 2 81
