Most of us would like to think that hospitals, medical centers, doctors and other workers will take the utmost care of a patient, and most of them do. However, mistakes can be made, and patients end up being harmed. Frequently, when that happens, the patient, their family, or both, file a lawsuit against the offending business and the medical professional involved. The state medical board also gets involved.
The steps to be taken when something goes wrong is as follows. Typically, the offending worker, and their supervisor are notified that something is wrong, by either the patient, or their family. Or, they may find out about the problem themselves. They try to rectify the situation, if possible. For instance, in the Redwood Memorial Hospital incident, a guide wire is used during the insertion of a catheter, and then removed to prevent complications (California Department of Public Health). Yet, in that incident, the guide wire was left in the patient, causing the physician to admit, “I spaced out, and it was a regrettable incident” and force a second procedure on the patient to remove the guide wire (California Department of Public Health). While the complaint is filed, it is put in writing for official records. At some point, the hospital’s top officials and legal team are notified that there is a problem.
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Afterword, if things are not resolved to the patient’s satisfaction, they may file a lawsuit, and they, or the medical facility, may notify their state’s Department of Health. The Roth family, for instance, filed a complaint against Mad River Hospital after their son received radiation burns and permanent chromosomal damage because the CT technologist took 151 scans, claiming she thought the machine was broken (Stone). The overexposure meant that the child developed an increased risk in a fatal cancer (Stone). The technologist was fired, though she appealed; the hospital was fined $25,000, which it said it would appeal, claiming they were compliant with state regulations. (Stone). Likewise, the health department became involved in the Redwood Memorial Hospital case, making several recommendations on procedures for the future (California Department of Health). At the same time, though, a hospital’s procedures must have common sense, such as the case of the anesthesiologist, who sued Cedars-Sinai because he tripped and fell in the CT room, fracturing his hand (AuntMinnie.com). The hospital won its case, because CT rooms aren’t necessarily designed for anesthesia and it would have been expensive to have to retrofit the room (AuntMinnie.com).
Based on the details of the anesthesiologist case, his case was a civil lawsuit. He filed, seeking $2 million in a settlement (AuntMinnie.com). The case of the child with cancer is not as clear. The story says they filed a complaint, but it does not say if it was a lawsuit or a complaint to the California Department of Public Health. One can safely assume, though, in this day and age, that the family of the boy would have filed a lawsuit, since the child suffered burns and now has an increased risk of dying from cancer. Neither of the cases are criminal, because it would have to be proven that the people who caused the problems did so with intent to harm. In the anesthesiologist case, nobody deliberately tripped him. In the child case, the CT technologist wasn’t deliberately scanning the child to harm him, nor it could be proven that she knew the machine was broken (Stone). Her supervisor claimed she didn’t notify her of the broken machine, which may or may not have made her negligent, but the actions weren’t criminal.
The lawsuits can have considerable implications for both the technologist and the anesthesiologist. The technologist lost her job, although she’s tried to get it back. That, and the complaint, are a part of her record. Any employer would be able to find out what she had done, and decide among themselves if they wanted to take the risk to hire her. They would have to see if she had any other complaints against her, how long she had worked, and if she had a good record prior to the incident. Although the story doesn’t say what happened to the anesthesiologist, one might think that suing their employer for millions of dollars for a hand fracture might not look too good. The employer may not want to keep the anesthesiologist on their staff, and other facilities may be hesitant in hiring him, for fear of being sued themselves.
The burden of proof in both the cases lies with the plaintiffs. They have to have enough evidence in their favor to sway a judge and jury. In the boy’s case, it wouldn’t take much to prove it, as the boy did not have burns before he entered the hospital, and the hospital did acknowledge there was a problem by firing the technologist. The hospital also was fined by the health department, which would help the boy’s family in proving their case. Likewise, the anesthesiologist has to prove the hospital was negligent in not making the CT room workable for him by having tripping hazards. He was unable to do so, as the jury ruled against him. Just because he tripped doesn’t mean the hospital was liable. He had to show that they had negligently, purposefully, or both, had a hazard that they did not rectify.
It is difficult enough to be sick, or injured, and have to use a doctor and medical facility, without having to worry about being harmed further by medical errors. Fortunately, most facilities try to take the utmost care of their patients. However, as the stories show, mistakes can and will happen, and we should all feel fortunate to be able to walk out of a facility healthier, rather than worse off and having to file a lawsuit.
