Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Six Southern California Hospitals Fined For Serious Injuries, Death, Etc.

For patients, being the victim of medical malpractice is doubly more painful because it is also a violation of their trust.

Patients put their lives in the hands of their doctors and hospitals but would unfortunately, end up spending more money for additional treatment or even dying because of medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice is committed by any health care provider who acts in a negligent manner when treating a medical condition. This can be committed either through a negligent action taken by the medical practitioner or by the failure to take a medically appropriate action.

Most recently, the California Department of Public Health fined six Southern California hospitals for serious violations some of which resulted to serious injury and death. These errant hospitals were fined $25,000 each for administrative penalties.

Orange County Children's Hospital’s nursing staff failed to ensure appropriate drainage after a child's neurological procedure in November which led to severe brain injury.

A patient died in Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach for its technician’s failure to continuously monitor a patient who was disconnected from a cardiac monitor for 34 minutes. The technician did not notice that the patient had flat-lined or hear the machine’s alarm because the volume was not set on the highest level.

Southwest Healthcare Systems in Murrieta was also issued its third administrative penalty since 2007.

The overcrowded hospital continued to convert general surgery beds into intensive care beds without adequate staffing in June 2008.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles and South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach were all fined for not following proper surgical procedures.

Patients had to undergo a second surgery to remove surgical sponges or towels after they were detected in follow-up exams or when the patients complained of complications.

Medical malpractice cases are highly technical and because of its very nature (where hospitals and doctors would defend against charges with all their might because of the damage to their reputation), it is expensive and complicated.

But victims of medical malpractice should not be afraid to seek damages or compensation because if the doctor or the hospital’s negligence isn’t addressed, more patients will suffer the same fate.

Other medical malpractice claims can be made in case of misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a patient’s disease or medical condition, the doctor or hospital’s failure to provide appropriate treatment and unreasonable delay in treating a patient.