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A B.C. doctor has been ordered to pay $500 to a client after a disagreement got physical.

According to a Sept. 21 B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Li Zheng was attending Dr. Chung Cheung Ko's medical office with her father, when a disagreement over the cost ended up in a minor physical altercation.

The case is unusual as it's rare for people to use the online small claims court to argue for damages in such cases.

The decision said Zheng had gone to the Vancouver medical clinic for her father to have a physical examination.

Before the examination took place Zheng and Dr. Ko's staff had a disagreement about the price.

Zheng then refused for her father to see the doctor and left.

However, when leaving the clinic she grabbed a piece of paper from the reception desk.

"She believed (the paper) to only be a photocopy of her father’s identification. In fact, the document contained another patient’s information as well," the Tribunal said.

Dr. Ko then followed Zheng outside the clinic and demanded that the documents be returned.

However, Zheng refused.

Zheng then said Dr. Ko "grabbed and beat her arm" which resulted in "swelling and bruising" to her right wrist.

Dr. Ko denied ever touching Zheng and said he only "called out loudly" when trying to get the document back. In his response to the Tribunal, Dr. Ko said he did not "grab or beat" Zheng’s arm or body and his receptionist could confirm that.

However, the Tribunal points out that the receptionist's statement in evidence does not confirm this.

"(The statement) only details the parties’ disagreement about the exam’s pricing and is silent about whether Dr. Ko touched Ms. Zheng or not," the Tribunal ruled.

"Although Dr. Ko says he only 'called out loudly' for Ms. Zheng to return the document, I do not accept this as it is inconsistent with both Ms. Zheng and her father’s statements," the Tribunal ruled. "I find the weight of the evidence supports a conclusion that Dr. Ko did strike Ms. Zheng’s arm while attempting to retrieve the confidential document from her."

The decision said following the incident the doctor called the police.

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The Tribunal said Dr. Ko did not "act reasonably" when trying to grab the document from Zheng.

"There is no indication Ms. Zheng was trying to leave the premises quickly or destroy the document," the Tribunal said. "I find Dr. Ko has not established he was permitted to use force to retrieve the document from Ms. Zheng. As a result, I find the force used was disproportionate in the circumstances."

Zheng claimed $5,000 in compensation for "arm pain and mental stress" and a doctor's note submitted by her in evidence showed her injury was minor.

"Zheng did not attend any rehabilitative treatment for the injury," the Tribunal ruled. "Although Ms. Zheng claims she suffered aggravated mental stress, she did not provide any evidence or submissions explaining this."

Ultimately, the Tribunal dismissed Zheng's claim for $5,000 and decided $500 was a "reasonable amount" and ordered Dr. Ko to pay Zheng $500 for the altercation.

The doctor has 30 days to pay.

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