Being in the medical field, I agree with your analysis, but I would rather think it "gross negligence". Doesn't homicide require some malicious intent beforehand?
I was only having palpitations one evening and being brought straight back in the ED immediately at the age of 38.
There is no excuse for what happened to that lady, the only other scenario I can think of is that she may have been a frequent flier in the ED , so they didn't take her complaints seriously. Still no excuse. You treat it as an MI unless the tests rule it out conclusively.
I would think so. But perhaps other circumstances surrounding the case led the coroner to be far more draconian. Maybe there were previous complaints or previous events. I don't know that much.
But the bottom line for every ER is chest pain + shortness of breath + nausea = heart attack until proven otherwise. I cannot tell you how many thousands of times that axiom has been driven into my brain. I don't know how or why this woman was blown off, but it killed her. And that is inexcusable in any ER.
Heck, I went to the ER one day because I thought I had torn a muscle in my left shoulder working out in the yard. I was 39 back then. They had me back in a treatment room and gave me an EKG within five minutes of my walking through the door. (I made up my mind then and there that I wanted to work in an ER like that. Now I am working in that same ER.)
As it turns out, I did indeed tear a muscle in my left shoulder. But it sure had me thinking...
I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, but AFAIK "homicide" is a legal term that means "wrongful death" or something similar. Not the same thing as "murder." Drunk drivers get charge with "criminal vehicular homicide" without malicious intent; it amounts to criminal stupidity. I think "negligent homicide" applies to taking an action that leads to someone's death, knowing that it was dangerous but without the specific intent to cause harm; something like firing a gun blindly, not realizing that there was a person hidden from view but in the line of fire.
Homicide defined -
http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/study/outlines/html/crim/crim24.htm
They're talking involuntary manslaughter.
Shoulda been more attentive once you're put on notice.
That's what distinguishes manslaughter from a mere accident..