# Medical provider pulls a Judge Crater **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 18, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398 "2026-08-18T16:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/1 "2026-08-18T16:30:49Z")
Two years ago, I was treated by a pulmonology practice whom my PCP had referred me to. Recently, the symptom recurred, so I called their office to try to get an appointment. I left a voice message. The outgoing message warned not to make repeated calls, which is pretty common these days with medical providers understaffed. I waited a few days, called again, and left a message. No response. _This went on for nearly a month._ So I decided to drive to their office. I had to do this numerous times with this provider, to ask a question that could have been answered over the phone. I googled the location to confirm it was still the same as two years ago. It was. I drove to the office and found that the practice was no longer there. This despite the fact that their phone system was still up and working, and (apparently) taking messages. And their contact info was all over the internet. I drove to the PCP’s office. His assistant did some checking and learned that the practice no longer existed. The PCP referred me to another pulmonologist, with whom I made an appointment for next month. So my problem is basically solved. But jeez! The least they could have done was disconnect the phone system, so people would get the “your call cannot be completed” message, and know to go elsewhere. This would also save money for whoever’s paying for the phone system. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/2 "2026-08-18T17:40:29Z")
Boy, I hate that crap. I’m glad you got it sorted. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/3 "2026-08-18T17:49:30Z")
On an episode of Dick van Dyke I saw not long ago on MeTV Dick met a Judge Crater, who had to reassure Dick that he wasn’t _that_ Judge Crater and explained that his name was spelled differently. I googled Judge Crater to figure out what the reference was. So when I saw your thread title, I knew it was _a_ reference. But had to google again to remember what the reference was. (He is a guy who disappeared. In 1930.) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/4 "2026-08-18T22:48:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > (He is a guy who disappeared. In 1930.) Yes. And suddenly, and without a trace. Hence the thread title. Does anyone know if this is unusual? Indicative of something shady? A cursory search on the doctor who treated me turns up no evidence of same, in nearly forty years of practice. He has aggregate ratings of slightly above average. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/5 "2026-08-19T00:02:37Z")
The most obvious explanation is that he died. If so, his executor(s) may not have had the information or expertise to shut down his practice in an orderly fashion. Judge Crater’s disappearance was apparently hugely publicized and was still fairly widely remembered even in the 1960s (hence the joke on the Dick van Dyke show in 1963). I remember mentions of it in my childhood even the late 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/6 "2026-08-19T00:30:59Z")
My husband was going through the process of getting dentures. We are financing it, and we’ve been making payments for several months, but no dentures yet. He had a major health event, and we had to put it on hold. When I tried to get in touch with them, I kept being told the mailbox was full. Finally, someone answered. The office we went to, 20 minutes away closed. Now we need to go to an office an hour away. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/7 "2026-08-19T03:11:20Z")
I hadn’t thought of that, good suggestion. A google search indicates that he is alive, and licensed to practice. Maybe he just decided to retire, but it still seems odd to do it so… ‘Craterly’. Around the same time as the DVD episode, MAD magazine ran a satire of _Lassie_ which exaggerated how effortlessly brilliant the dog was: when Timmy threw a stick into the woods for her to find, she brought back the stick, and several missing persons, one of whom asked, “Anybody looking for me? I’m Judge Crater”. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/8 "2026-08-19T04:58:52Z")
FWIW, this is kind of the opposite of what you describe, but a few weeks ago I got a letter from my dermatologist saying that she was retiring, and the last day of seeing patients would be about a week after the letter was dated. It seemed surprising and abrupt to me that she was closing her practice with such short notice. Then a couple of weeks later I got a message from her saying that the letter was erroneous, that she didn’t write the letter, and that she’s not retiring. She seemed quite irritated about it. It’s not clear to me exactly what happened, but I get the impression that she uses some service to handle patient communications and they screwed up. Perhaps something like that happened with your doctor, where he expected a service to communicate his retirement to his patients and they failed to do so, or failed to reach all of them. Leaving the phone active is weird, but again that could be something handled by a separate service that screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/9 "2026-08-19T14:28:18Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > This despite the fact that their phone system was still up and working, and (apparently) taking messages. This would have been the office manager’s responsibility, or the temp office manager who was promoted only because the office manager had already left. The new person may not have had any information about who provided the service, coupled with they didn’t really care as they were about to lose their job anyway & I could see how it slipped thru the cracks & is still up & running. The other (rhetorical) question is - is the account in arrears but not enough to turn off service yet or are the practice’s bank accounts still open but in the process of winding down outstanding items & the phone co is auto-deducting their monthly fee so the phone provider is none the wiser that they’re providing service for a defunct business. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > And their contact info was all over the internet. My first job was with a private company, we went public, were eventually bought by a large corporation (that is still in business) & they eventually sold our division off & got out of our line of work, so long ago that a baby born on our last day is just shy of being able to legally drink. I happened to be googling something the other day & came across what looks like a current listing for that company that closed “one score & eight months ago” despite the company’s address _not_ being in Gettysburg. ;-). Why a company that has been gone almost 21 years still has info on the web, including the correct address & phone # making them look like a going concern is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-provider-pulls-a-judge-crater/1032398/10 "2026-08-19T14:30:40Z")
Needless to say, pulling a Judge Crater is not the right way to go about shutting down a medical practice. There are [accepted guidelines](https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/the-ultimate-checklist-for-closing-your-medical-practice) and even laws governing the process. > [@](#): > > - > - Ensure you notify patients within the proper timeline to avoid claims of abandonment. > - Notify high-risk patients via certified mail with a return receipt. > - Notify all other patients via regular mail. > - Retain a copy of the notification in each patient’s record. > > - When you notify patients, include the following: > - Closing date > - Names of local physicians accepting new patients > - Names of providers taking (over your) practice (if applicable) > - Medical records storage information > - Instructions for requesting records > - Contact information for current and future questions, requests or concerns Info retained online (ratings sites etc.) can make it look like a physician is alive and practicing medicine, when they might be long retired or deceased. \*for years after his disappearance, comedians were getting laughs with the tagline “Judge Crater, call your office.” Probably less effective in modern comedy routines.