When my daughter developed a rash, we showed it to my dermatologist neighbor right in our backyard. He said, ''I have just the thing for that.'' He applied some medicine, the rash went away and I got a bill for $56. My wife, an accountant, has given this doctor much advice over the back fence at no charge. Should we pay his bill? Anonymous
Sounds like a merry mix-up.
The dermatologist saw the backyard consultation as akin to an office visit; you saw it as a neighborly courtesy, like the no-charge professional chats he had with your wife. Why not remind him about those conversations and tell him how you feel? Then, if he remains obdurate, have your wife bill him for the services she rendered.
Less provocatively, you could acknowledge the difference between what ethics allows and what neighborliness commends. Or, as Mark 8:36 does not put it: What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain $56 and lose the right to borrow his neighbor's card table?
I'll have to keep this dermatologists method in mind for when I'm able to give legal advice. I have no need to borrow anyone's card table.
