Dr. Decapitated By Faulty Elevator At St Joseph Hospital

Houston Chronicle ^ | August 17, 2003 | Peggy O'Hare

[demkicker]

An aspiring missionary doctor, who was voted by medical school classmates as the epitome of a good physician, was killed Saturday at Christus St. Joseph Hospital when an elevator malfunctioned, decapitating him, authorities said.

Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, of Dallas, a surgical resident at the hospital at 1919 La Branch, was stepping onto a second-floor elevator in the main building around 9:30 a.m. when the doors closed, pinning his shoulders, said Harold Jordan, an investigator with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. The elevator car then moved upward, severing the doctor's head, Jordan said.

"It is an unexpected and tragic loss," said Dr. Hisashi Nikaidoh, Hitoshi's father, from his Dallas area home. "He is an outgoing and very caring person."

A woman who also works at the hospital was on the elevator at the time and witnessed the accident, police said. Because of the malfunction, she was trapped on the elevator for 15 or 20 minutes before firefighters were able to reach her, police said.

The woman was not injured, but was later taken to the emergency room because she was in shock, said Sgt. Kenneth Perkins of the Houston Police Department's Special Operations Division.

Nikaidoh was on duty at the time and wearing his doctor coat and surgical scrubs when the accident happened, Jordan said.

The scene was one of chaos when police and firefighters first arrived at the hospital, Perkins said. Medical personnel were in disbelief, some crying.

"They were trying to console one another. Just to see other people in disarray -- the looks on their faces pretty much told the whole story," he said.

Police have launched an investigation into the accident. St. Joseph Hospital officials have taken the entire elevator bank out of service, but normal patient services have not been interrupted.

Hospital officials would not answer any questions Saturday about the accident since the investigation has just begun. They also would not reveal the name of the elevator manufacturer.

One worker at the hospital said there had been problems in the past with these particular elevators and that maintenance crews had been trying to service them in the past week, Perkins said.

Nikaidoh was a member of the 2003 class of the University of Texas-Houston Medical School, where he previously served as Student InterCouncil President, the student-leader over six schools within the medical center.

He became a devout Christian while in medical school, his father said. He became a youth group leader and decided to become a missionary doctor.

Hospital spokeswoman India Chumney Hancock would not discuss Nikaidoh's background or how long he had been with the hospital. "In respect for the family, we're not giving out any information," she said Saturday.

"Since the investigation has just begun, we're not answering any questions at this time," she said.

Both city and state inspectors will review the fatal accident, said a licensed elevator inspector who served on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Department advisory board.

"Annual inspections are required, and I'm familiar with that hospital building and know they have a contracted (maintenance) company," said Alan Van Nort, a member of the state's Elevators, Escalators and Related Equipment Advisory Board.

Van Nort said he also is familiar with another hospital elevator accident earlier this year that injured 14 passengers, including 12 patients, at the Intracare Hospital in the Texas Medical Center area. The elevator dropped several floors before jerking to a stop and broke several passengers' bones and hurt backs and necks.

But hospital elevators are not inspected any more intensely than office building elevators, Van Nort said.

"The city has primary responsibility for inspections, and then reports of any incident go to the state for review," he said.

Mignette Yvonne Dorsey, spokeswoman for the City of Houston Building Services, said the city would be tracking the inspections done by the City Planning Department's inspectors. But there was no specific inspection information available from the city Saturday night.

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

How awful. just awful. a horrible end. From all accounts, he sounded like a wonderful, caring person who could have made such a positive difference in the world. And then there are the evil ones who live to ripe old ages, leaving hate and destruction wherever they go. Sometimes I just find it hard to understand the why of it all.

[SerpentDove]

>>Different situation, same principle: before I ever get into an elevator, I first make sure that, when the doors open, the car REALLY IS THERE. I have taught my children to do the same thing. <<

Here in Dallas we had a tragic thing happen a few years back.

A caterer was pulling a cart and walking backwards to pull it onto the elevator (common practice).

When the elevator doors opened, he backed in and fell many stories to his death.

Horrible.

[bonesmccoy]

I can assure you... I definitely know what's happening in the legal space between hospitals and physicians.

The American people MUST HAVE impartial medical opinions based on medical needs. Manipulation of doctors by hospitals has gone far enough.

Medi-Care reform is needed now. I'm very pleased that the White House agrees.

[bonesmccoy]

the board of directors of the hospital and the Baylor College of Medicine should answer for this situation.

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

"As such, we create what we experience: the good, the bad, and everything in between."

I believe in God, but i'm not buying your pat answer. I don't think God caused this man to die such a horrible death, but I don't think this good doctor "created the experience" of getting decapitated. Certainly you're not suggesting that he initiated his own death experience because he happened to get into a malfunctioning elevator at that precise moment? Is there no room for accidents--with no one to blame?--in your life view?

[Redcloak]

I've noticed that some elevators have counterintuitive stop switches. They either look like light switches, which can cause confusion wonding whether up means "go" or "engage the brake" or wondering what state it's in to begin with. Some light switch types are mounted sideways adding to the confusion. Others are a stop sign shaped button that must be pulled rather than pushed; as opposed to most heavy equipment where the panic button can be slammed with the palm of the hand to stop the machine.

(The bottom line is, however, that the elevator shouldn't have moved with something in the door.)

[The_Media_never_lie]

Texas has it's own electric grid. Are you in Texas?

[neb52]

I know what you mean. when I go up on the floors to look at computer problems for the Tech Support Group at night. A lot of the problems had been occuring for weeks, but nobody felt like calling the problem in. But then our help desk is pretty bad, so its kind of like a deterrent, the nurses would rather live with the problem than call the help desk.

Problem is when you get low morale and poor training, then little mistakes occur and then they turn into big mistakes. Which only increases lawsuits and greater distrust between employee and management. The only reason we don't have anymore problems then we do know. Is strictly due to the lowly grunts(nurses and other administrative staff)taking some pride in their work. But you have those bad days, maybe you got some scathing email from some manager you have never meet, about something you have no earthly idea what they're talking about. It just ruins your day. We get a lot of these emails from executive or manager about everyday. We call them the unilateral premptive a$$ chewings. Its like the managers know somebody is going to screw up, so they send out an email to help keep it from happening.

[BartMan1]

That's JCAHO : Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospitals.

[des]

God created natural laws. Men created machines. Sometimes men and their machines go awry but the laws of nature remain. Just as God wouldn't likely defy gravity for you if you fall off a cliff.

[Consort]

I believe in God, but i'm not buying your pat answer.

There is no such thing as a pat answer.

Certainly you're not suggesting that he initiated his own death experience because he happened to get into a malfunctioning elevator at that precise moment?

People die in many ways: they kill themselves on purpose or by accident, they kill others on purpose (murder or sanctioned execution/war), or by accident. He initiated going on the elevator with the expectation that it would function as intended. The elevator safety system was designed poorly, or maintained poorly, or inspected poorly, or was tampered with, etc. People, not God, made the elevator.

Is there no room for accidents--with no one to blame?--in your life view?

Did I blame anyone? Did I rule out accidents? Someone once said that an accident was a way of experiencing an event that you would not intentionally or consciously cause to happen. If things just happened and we had no part in bringing them about, then how can we be held responsible in this life or judged later on?

[nmh]

Doctor or not, how awful! That poor woman trapped IN the elevator will ne haunted by this.

[dr_lew]

I have to wonder where God is when horrible, stupid things like this happen.

Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page prescribed, their present state;
From brutes what men, from men what spirits know;
Or who could suffer being here below?
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason would he skip and play?
Pleas'd to the last he crops the flowery food,
And licks the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.
O blindness to the future! kindly giv'n,
That each may fill the circle mark'd by Heav'n;
Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurl'd,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.

Pope, Essay on Man

[neb52]

Thanks, I always mix it up. All I know is its a big joke. We are giving notice months in advance when they are coming. So we are made to go to these classes, so we can be taught we say to the JCAHO reps when they question us on policy and procedures. Also have plenty of time to mop and wax floors, replace doors and check fire extinguishers. Its pretty much all acting on a broadway show.

[happygrl]

the strange little ones like this, bears the hallmark of the prince of lies.

Yes.

This man was a Devout Christian.

This story has really gotten to me, I must say.

[bonesmccoy]

JCAHO

The biggest joke of a standards body on Earth.

Pay your way... get your say.

[bonesmccoy]

The poor conduct of Baylor around Texas Medical Center has been a problem for 15 years. That's why Reagan's Admin and Bush 41 went after these criminals.

This is criminal misconduct.

It was so bad that the local news reporters feel obliged to say positive things about the hospitals at Texas Med Center because they're so intimidated.

People keep dying down there for stupid reasons...and this is the latest.

[bonesmccoy]

Dittos... we should do a Freeper analysis on JCAHO. It would be eye opening for the politicians.

[TEXASPROUD]

This is bad. I worked with this guys dad, who happens to be one of the best pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeons in the state of Texas. Big loss for all of us.