Medical Malpractice Injury - Emergency Department Inaction Kills Innocent Woman
Medical malpractice happens often enough, but the circumstances surrounding some malpractice cases demonstrates the lack of any concern for human life. Here, a 43 year old woman died of a perforated bowel after writhing in pain on the floor in an emergency department for 45 minutes as hospital employees refused to help her. Rather than try to assist her, this patient was discharged and left on a bench outside the hospital screaming in pain.
County officers who were called to respond took the woman back inside and tried to get a nurse to help, but according to the police report, the nurse did not show any concern. Officers then made a computer check and found that the patient was wanted for a parole violation. As the officers put her in a wheelchair to handle the outstanding violation, the woman became unresponsive and died in the emergency room.
The woman’s family appears justified in claiming that their mother was not treated like a human being-that she was treated like an animal. Obviously, more folks need to understand that all of us must hold these hospitals accountable for such disregard for human life. Otherwise, there is no deterrent to such reckless conduct. As a footnote, the hospital is being downsized into an urgent care center after failing to meet federal standards for patient care.
