Negligence in the Healthcare Setting

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Table of Contents

Negligence
Joan River’s case
Michael Jackson’s case
John Ritter’s case
Recommendations
Conclusion
References

Negligence

Negligence in the healthcare sector is common and has resulted in the worsening of patients’ conditions or even death. In the healthcare sector, negligence is the failure of a medical practitioner to take the recommended necessary steps to prevent injury or loss to another person. It is different from misjudgment or other medical errors because in this case, the decision is deliberate (Connelly and Serpell, 2020). Although a complicated case in the legal field due to the many principles involved, negligence has resulted in the death and worsening of man patients’ conditions. It is therefore important to carefully handle the cases in the legal sector to ensure that the victims are compensated. Proper education for medical practitioners is also important, as it will prevent similar future cases.

Negligence can occur at any stage during healthcare provision, the include, including testing, taking history, giving medical advice, treatment, and reporting the medical results. Many cases are recorded all over the country every year, with patients or kin of patients accusing medical practitioners of worsening their condition or even causing death. For a case to be concluded as negligence in court, it has to meet several parameters (Cheluvappa and Selvendran, 2020). First, the duty of care, the patient must have been placed under the care of a given healthcare practitioner. Second, breach of duty, there is overwhelming evidence that the given practitioner did not meet the basic standard of care. Third, damage, the damage experienced by the patient was easily foreseeable and could have been avoided. Lastly, causation, the damage being claimed must have been caused by a duty breach. If a patient fails to defend the case within these parameters, they are most likely to lose the case because the judge will conclude it was an unfortunate event in the medical sector.

Joan River’s case

Several profound cases involving medical negligence hit the news headlines in the US in recent years. For example, Joan was a popular comedian in the US before her demise. In 2014, she suffered a sore throat and sought treatment at Yorkville Endoscopy. Joan had previously suffered from acid reflux disease, therefore; she agreed to undergo an endoscopy and a laryngoscopy. The two processes were meant to examine her upper digestive part as well as her vocal cords. A series of medical malpractices and breach of protocol conducted resulted in Joan being unable to breathe because her vocal cords were swollen blocking the esophagus. It was evident that her doctors did not notice a rapid gradual decrease in her vital signs. Fifteen minutes later, she had a cardiac arrest due to insufficient oxygen. Sadly, Rivers died a week later when she was removed from life support (Yahr, 2020). A case filed by her daughter proved Yorkville Endoscopy to be at fault making its medical director step down and her family settled.

Joan’s case depicted total negligence on the part of doctors. They failed to monitor her carefully and notice when things were going wrong. The protocol was breached during the procedure since Korovin performed a transnasal laryngoscopy not previously agreed upon. Rivers did not authorize these additional procedures but Cohen still let Korovin carry them. Poor monitoring of the patient also caused Joan’s deterioration. The medical practitioners failed to notice her worsening condition. The doctors should have adhered to the right protocols discussed since all risk factors are considered when the right protocol is observed. It also prevents emotional decisions (Yahr, 2020). They also should have obeyed the patient’s decision and not carried out additional medical procedures because she may not have disclosed that she cannot survive the additional procedures because of an underlying condition. Proper and careful monitoring of the patient would have helped as they would know when things are worsening and promptly carry out the necessary procedures.

Michael Jackson’s case

Another notable example of medical negligence was the case of Michael Jackson whose sudden death shocked the world. Michael had trouble sleeping and to ease his condition his doctor regularly administered Propofol among other numerous drugs (Yahr, 2020). Propofol is a very strong anesthetic, which is hazardous when used in excessive amounts. After the death of Michael, an autopsy conducted revealed that indeed, Propofol and other drugs were present at very high levels in his body. This was a case of complete negligence and civil malpractice. The doctor ignored the principles taught in medical school, failed to conduct routine monitoring, and was extremely careless.

Michael’s death would have been prevented if the doctor had adhered to the principles taught in medical school, this would prevent intoxicating Michael with the drug. It would also have helped if the doctor had been carrying out routine checks on Michael, as he would have established earlier that Michael’s condition needed special attention (Yahr, 2020). Providing an additional superior doctor to supervise his doctor’s work would have prevented negligence on the part of his doctor. A supervisor sees the mistakes and helps correct them promptly.

John Ritter’s case

John Ritter’s case of 2003 is also notable when negligence in the healthcare sector is discussed. John died after suffering from aortic dissection at the hands of doctors. Initially, doctors failed to misdiagnose his condition as a heart attack thus failing to conduct the necessary procedures like an x-ray. Furthermore, they did not notice his abnormally enlarged aorta during the heart examination (Yahr, 2020). Although the doctors were cleared of any wrongdoing, they displayed negligence, poor examination, and carelessness. The proper examination would have observed his enlarged aorta and upon taking the necessary steps his life would be saved. Being careful during diagnosis would prevent misdiagnosis. In addition, putting the doctors under supervision to prevent such misfortunes.

Recommendations

Cases of negligence not only cause fear to patients but also spite the hatred between doctors and those close to the victim. They are always sad cases that cause huge grief in many families. Several measures can be established to curb medical negligence. First, strict laws and policies against perpetrators of medical negligence. Laws that impose long jail terms and huge fines will make doctors more careful when doing their job. It is also important to safely keep accurate records of all medical procedures a patient undergoes, this enables any doctor to conduct the right treatment for a patient and also prevents misdiagnosis (Yahr, 2020). Lastly, all hospitals should obtain insurance cover for medical malpractice, this insurance not only keeps the management in check but also helps to settle patients when such cases occur.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the rampant cases of negligence can be prevented and lives saved if doctors and nurses are more careful in their work. Proper training and commitment are important as they are the main tools for achieving proper health care. Therefore, we all must play our parts; patients be alert and report any mischievous doctor; doctors love their work and take good care of patients. Proper cooperation between patients, doctors, and the government will improve the quality of healthcare in the country.

References

Cheluvappa, R. and Selvendran, S., 2020. Medical negligence – Key cases and application of legislation. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 57, pp.205-211.

Connelly, A. and Serpell, M., 2020. Clinical negligence. Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, 21(10), pp.524-527.

Yahr, E. (2020). What went wrong with Joan Rivers’s last medical procedure: lawsuit. The Washington Post. Web.

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