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Woman Becomes Quadruple Amputee After Giving Birth
Here's a good story to remember the next time you hear about hospitals and doctor groups complaining about the high costs of malpractice insurance:
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Sanford mother says she will never be able to hold her newborn because an Orlando hospital performed a life-altering surgery and, she claims, the hospital refuses to explain why they left her as a multiple amputee.
The woman filed a complaint against Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems, she said, because they won't tell her exactly what happened. The hospital maintains the woman wants to know information that would violate other patients' rights.
Claudia Mejia gave birth eight and a half months ago at Orlando Regional South Seminole. She was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando where her arms and legs were amputated. She was told she had streptococcus, a flesh eating bacteria, and toxic shock syndrome, but no further explanation was given.
The hospital, in a letter, wrote that if she wanted to find out exactly what happened, she would have to sue them. [emphasis added]
This would be unbelievable, except that medical professionals respond this way all too often. The Orlando hospital may cite Florida's "Patients Right To Know" statute as its rationale, but the code of silence is common throughout U.S. health care. The reasons are varied and complicated, but for a quickie intro to the topic, check out some of the sources mentioned here.
Posted by Carrie McLaren on 01/31/2006 | Permalink
Comments
Your comments are a perfect example of people going on the attack without knowing what the hell they're talking about.
This woman is demanding information about the other patients at the hospital. You know darn well that a hospital can't give out that information without a court order, or they'll be facing lawsuits from every single one of those patients. They have a right to privacy.
If you'd really followed this story closely and read between the lines, you would have picked up that the hospital seems to WANT to talk to her and answer her questions, but they can't do it without going through the legal process. They've practically invited her to sue so she can get a court order to answer her question. But without that court order, people like you would be condemning the hospital for violating the privacy of all those other patients.
Posted by: | Nov 22, 2006 1:08:36 PM
