Lawsuit Tampa General Hospital, Research Paper Example

Summary of Lawsuit

A lawsuit was filed against Tampa General Hospital for losing a patient’s bone flap, after a surgical procedure. The patient was admitted to Lakeland Regional hospital for medical tests, because of dizziness, headaches, head swelling, and severe reaction to daylight. The female patient’s primary physician(PCP) ordered a CT scan, which is a specialized X-ray exam. The primary care physician(PCP) wanted to check the brain for bleeding. The physician used this test because it produces a  2-dimensional image of the brain. The female patient was prepared for the test by injecting a dye, which makes it simpler to examine the blood flow in the brain. The test results indicated the female had a life threatening ruptured aneurysm. The female patient was rushed by ambulance to Tampa General Hospital. Tampa General Hospital admitted the 35 year old female patient suffering with several ruptured brain aneurysms.

The Tampa General head neurosurgeon performed surgery to relieve the bleeding. The brain surgery was a success, repairing the patient’s life threatening aneurysms.  However, the female patient had some complications. The female patient’s brain started to hemorrhage. The neurosurgeon had to perform an emergency brain surgical procedure called an “Evacuation of a Hematoma” to save the patient’s life.

The neurosurgeon had to remove the right brain flap covering the brain to accommodate massive swelling.  The patient returned several months later to have the bone flap replaced. However, the bone flap was lost by Tampa General Hospital. The hospital had to create a 3-d Titanium bone replacement for the real bone flap. Tampa General Hospital was sued for medical malpractice.

Management Prevention

The management team of Tampa General could have prevented this lawsuit by keeping current updated risk management procedures.  The bone storage bank at Tampa General was informed to save the bone flap for surgery in 90 days. The internal breakdown was caused because the physician orders was not clear, poor bone bank storage procedures and the lack of follow-up to ensure the bone was safely stored. The Tampa General Hospital bone bank has procedures for bone flaps, which are scheduled for re-implantation in a few weeks. However, management does not have proper procedures for bone flaps that are aged over 90 days.

The risk management department believes it is the surgical team and the neurosurgeon’s responsibilities to label, saved, and complete the proper paperwork on how long the bone flap should be saved.  According to California Blood Bank Society (2001),’ The hospital risk management team feels that surgery has not had adequate procedures for labeling, storage and returning these grafts to the patient” (pg.1).  The physicians have the opposite opinion stating, the blood bank should be held accountable for saving, logging the bone flap. Management needs to bring both parties together, to ensure the Tampa General Hospital has a global policy for every department.

The risk management team needs to be more informed about the number of medical malpractice cases against Tampa General Hospital and in the state of Florida. There are statistics to support the re-training of the risk management team. According to Greenwald (2012),” The study examined more than 10,000 claims nationwide closed between 2002 and 2005 that involved some defense costs. Some 55.2% resulted in litigation, ranging from 46.7% for claims against anesthesiologists to 62.6% for claims against obstetricians and gynecologists.

Ethical Considerations

The malpractice law indicates a female patient must prove three things: The hospital was at fault, prove mental or physical damage, and provide proof the hospital was negligent. The law is unethical because the law is requiring a female patient to prove that the lost of a body part. The patient had to wait 6 months instead of 90 days for the bone flap to be replaced. The patient had to walk around with half of her brain bone with the danger of injuring her head causing further damage.

The hospital understands the law of statue of limitation to bring a lawsuit. The hospital utilizes this loop hole to delay providing proper documentation to the plantiff. These actions are unethical on the part of the hospital. Tampa General refused to respond whether the bone flap was lost or whether the bone flap was misplaced by the physician or bone bank.  Tampa General Hospital is openly trying not compensate the female patient for injuries received because of their neglience. Most experts would agree that the current medical malpractice system in the United States does not work effectively either to compensate victims fairly or prevent injuries caused by medical errors” (Sloan and Chepke, (2008).

Sources of Law

The Tampa General Management team could take advantage of medical malpractice laws to leverage the knowledge level of physicians, staff, bone bank and surgical team. The Tampa General Hospital legal team needs to provide quarterly meetings, to explain to the entire staff  their responsibilities. Many employees do not understand, the hospital is responsible for their negligent actions. However, the hospital may not be responsible for the neurosurgeon malpractice claims.  According to Boeschen (2012), “Though hospitals are often on the hook for incompetent care provided by employees like paramedics, nurses, and medical technicians, they often are not responsible for a doctor’s medical malpractice” (pg.1).

Alternation Solutions

The hospital management should be more upfront about resolving issues long before they reach the courtrooms. The amount of revenue that is spent on defending the case could be avoided with out of court settlements. According to Buddenbaum, Carroll & Parikh (2012),”On average a medical malpractice claim costs more than $27,000 to defend. Claims that go to trial are much more costly to defend than are those that are dropped, withdrawn, or dismissed”. The management team should establish new criteria for settling out of court. Some hospitals are taking the stance that Florida has a noneconomic cap on damages, so hospitals should not settle. Florida’s cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases does not violate the U.S. Constitution, a U.S. appeals court ruled in May” (Newman, 2011).

In reality, many physicians encourage the hospital not to settle because their medical malpractice insurance will increase. This is not the stance the hospital needs to take , because choosing to defend in court can lead to large settlements to the plaintiffs. Physicians are often able to convince their professional liability insurance carriers to settle, or, conversely, not to settle medical malpractice cases brought against them” (Tammello, 2011).

The US courts are in agreement, that hospitals should attempt to resolve lawsuits with face-to-face negotiations, mediations, or arbitration to avoid spending thousands to settle cases involving hospital negligence.  The hospital needs to think twice before bringing lawsuits to the courts that can be settled without a trial.  The Tampa General Hospital lawsuit is a clear case of negligence caused by the hospitals and the physician.  The hospital can still be financial responsible while settling obvious causes of negligence.

References

Boeschen,C. (2012). Medical malpractice: When can patients sue a hospital for negligence? Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-patients-sue-hospital-negligence-30189.html

Buddenbaum, J, Carroll,A. and Parikh, P.(2012, July). The impact of defense expenses in medical malpractice claims.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics Spring 2012: 135. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database

California Blood Bank Society. (2001). Should blood banks store autologous bone flaps in their freezer? Retrieved from http://www.cbbsweb.org/enf/2001/bonestorage.html

Greenwald, J. (2012, May 28). Most med mal cases thrown out; Suits that reach trial usually see verdicts in physicians’ favor. Business Insurance, 46(22), 0003. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database

Newman, E. (2011, July). Florida cap on damages ok, court says.” McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.  Retrieved from Academic OneFile database

Sloan,F. & Chepke, M. (2008).Medical malpractice.  Cambridge:  MA: MIT Press

Tammello.D. (2011,June). Dr. could not stop his ins. carrier from settling med-mal case! Case on point: Papudesu v. med/mal joint undwrtng. Assoc. of R.I., 209-364-A2d.-(4/18/20ll)-

RI.”  Medical Law’s Regan Report. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database