Picture of his office lobby. Why do those signs look familiar?
Posted on 01/09/2014 6:39:24 AM PST by goodwithagun
A 13-year-old California girl who was declared brain dead after suffering complications from sleep apnea surgery has been given the feeding and breathing tubes that her family had been trying to obtain for weeks. Christopher Dolan, the attorney for the girl's family, said doctors inserted the gastric tube and tracheostomy tube Wednesday at the undisclosed facility where Jahi McMath was taken Jan. 5. The procedure was a success, Dolan said, and Jahi is getting the treatment that her family believes she should have gotten 28 days ago, when doctors at Children's Hospital Oakland first declared her brain dead.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
The longer this goes on, the more I will believe her parents just want $$$. If she lived and was severely injured by the surgeries, they would get more money than if she died. also, they are still fooling the public and raising money from donations. The lawyer should be disbarred, if that is possible.
The lawyer will not even say what kind of facility, let alone which one, she is in. Probably because no one would take her. She’s probably in the backroom of a barbershop in Oakland.
I noticed that some here are willing to blame the family without any evidence, but unwilling to hold the hospital responsible.
A 13-year-old passed away after a low-risk, elective surgery while she was recovering in the hospital. The hospital is responsible.
We don’t know who is responsible until all of the facts are released. In fact, this might be one of those terrible tragedies in which nobody is responsible.
This is not a low risk surgery. Her tonsils and adenoids were removed, and her uvula was reduced or removed as well. Basically the docs made her airway larger to help alleviate sleep apnea, a condition that could have been cured with weight loss. Her obesity added to the risk.
Yes, and as I pointed out on other threads, the surgery she had (known as UPPP) has a high risk of complications but a mortality rate of only 0.2%.
Her obesity added to the risk.
If that is the case, then the surgeon should not have performed the surgery. Any way we look at it, the hospital will be held responsible.
BTW, there was another case at the same hospital that involved a younger girl undergoing only a tonsillectomy and ending up in a similar state, except that she has some brain activity. In that case, the hospital settled with the family.
I’m not saying that the hospital is innocent. I am saying that we have to consider all possibilities until the facts are known. All we have is an obese mom who wanted a quick fix for her obese daughter, marching around wearing a t-shirt with her dead daughter’s picture on it. Based on my observations of the family, it is not a stretch to think that they might be culpable. If the hospital is at fault, I hope the family sues.
The mother brought her daughter to a pediatrician who referred her to an ear, nose, and throat specialist (a surgeon). If a patient is deemed a candidate at all for a particular type of surgery, of course a surgeon will tell the patient that surgery is the best option.
I’ve had to deal with many surgeons. We lost my father to what turned out to be an unnecessary cancer-related surgery. (One surgeon insisted it was necessary. Afterward others said it probably wasn’t.)
I am lucky to have found surgeons I trust completely.
I don’t know why anyone dislikes the mother so much. I don’t know the woman, but my heart goes out to her and the rest of the family. I have been in the desperate position of trying to “save” a family member when something happened that shouldn’t have happened at a hospital.
There are risks for every surgery, and there were probably a lot of paper work and signatures pre-surgery.
The medical profession is not sainted. Docs push for surgeries to try out the latest techniques, and I believe a doc used my grandmother as a guinea pig decades ago. In the very least they will prescribe meds with dangerous and fatal side effects for issues that can be cured with simple lifestyle changes. I’m no fan of some of the profession’s tactics. That stated, the med business is under a lot of fire. Some docs must treat Medicaid and Medicare patients, even though the lose money doing so. My aunt, who is a nurse and runs my uncle’s very successful med office, said that they are reimbursed less today than they were 15 years ago. Refuse these patients, get a law suit. My uncle recently was hit with a malpractice suit as well. Ten thousand because his partner MIGHT have messed up a vasectomy three years ago. Juries treat malpractice insurance like the lottery. For the record, I’m a big alternative medicine fan.
In my urban community I see people like Jahi’s family all the time. Memorial t-shirts are part of their everyday wardrobes. We have a family that marches in front of the police station every year on the anniversary of a drug deal gone wrong death. The police could never get enough information from the “no snitchin’” witnesses. The family knows who killed their loved one, everybody knows that the family knows. But in true urbanite fashion they must wear shirts, carry signs, and demand justice because the police are too racist to solve the case. Jahi’s family reminds me of this.
We both have personal experiences that have shaded our views of this situation. We’re human, that’s what we do.
Picture of his office lobby. Why do those signs look familiar?
Agreed. That's true for everyone. In my case, I'm remembering what happened to not only my father but another close relative - how the hospital staff caused their deaths while they were in the care of a hospital. Of course the surgeon and the hospital staff weren't willing to take the blame. They kept blaming other things.
There are risks for every surgery, and there were probably a lot of paper work and signatures pre-surgery.
Without a doubt. But, even with all of that paperwork, the hospital (and/or surgeon) will have to pay if any culpability at all is found. And, any way we slice it, there will be culpability found. According to what I read years ago, contrary to popular opinion, most malpractice claims are denied and lawsuits never go anywhere. Plus, lawyers don't want to handle cases that are too complicated (as in my father's case). IOW, there are far more mistakes being made in hospitals than there are lawsuits.
But, when a 13yo - who wasn't terminally ill going into the hospital - dies after an elective surgery while in the care of hospital staff, the hospital and/or surgeon is going to pay. And they know it. They'll probably offer a settlement.
I agree with you, btw, about the medical establishment. (I had no choice but to go to extremes with conventional medicine and surgeries myself.)
Like you, I have a close relative who's a good physician. And, actually, my whole family exists here in this country because one ancestor came here and established himself as a well-respected doctor - in the old days, when doctors made home visits. When I was ill, eventually I found a good team of doctors and surgeons, all of whom I consider my heroes. So, I do respect doctors and surgeons and nurses. But, as in every profession, a few should not be practicing at all, and even the best make mistakes sometimes.
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