Question

This assignment gives you an opportunity to consider the facts of a case potentially involving claims of negligence. You will have the opportunity to analyze the possible claims, as well as the potential defenses to any claim presented by the plaintiff. The facts of the case are described below. :

CASE:Following an automobile accident, a 46-year-old man was brought to the hospital emergency department by an ambulance. The patient seemed to be alert, was able to answer questions, and claimed to be suffering from a great deal of pain. The physician administered 15 milligrams of morphine intravenously. The patient needed blood but refused a transfusion. After being observed in the emergency department for several hours, the patient was placed on a medical-surgical unit for observation. The following morning, he was unresponsive, and he was eventually pronounced dead. It was later discovered that he had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. The night of the accident, he had injected heroin and drank several shots of tequila and multiple cans of beer. He had not disclosed any of this to the doctors or nurses treating him. Several years later, his estate sued the physician, claiming medical malpractice.

PICK ONE: Analyze the possible outcomes of the lawsuit under one of the following scenarios: If death was the result of overdose

If death was the result of failure to administer blood

If death was the result of subdural hematoma

In your short paper, analyze the potential success of a claim for negligence under one of the three possible scenarios. Include a detailed discussion of each element of the negligence claim and why that element is met or not met. Discuss the possible defenses that could be reasonably asserted by the doctor to each claim, and why that defense might apply. Lastly, include a paragraph describing which, if any, claim you believe might be the most successful against the doctor and why.

Answer 1

Ans.) There is three different situation presented here which caused the death of a 46-year-old man in an automobile accident. These scenarios are a death due to overdose, failure to administer blood, and subdural hematoma. Based on the given information, there should be two of the three cases; there is a potential for a strong case to be made for negligence on the part of the medical staff.

If the coronary office deemed the death was the result of an overdose. There could be a claim for negligence. The main issue here is that nothing is clear that how much or what they discussed with the 46-year-old man. According the given information, the hospital staff observed the patient for several hours. A propensity for drug addiction is not apparent just by a patient's appearance. But during those several hours there was no communication with the patient. When patient was able to answer, then why hospital staff did not communicate properly and tried to understand his critical situation.

As it is also mentioned that the patient needed blood but he refused transfusion, in this situation it is hospital staff's responsibility to make the patient understand the importance of blood transfusion or any other treatment. They cannot be failed in this. This also comes under hospital negligence during the treatment of the patient.

As it is a well known fact that subdural hematoma resulted due to pressure on the brain. This can be extremely dangerous or even fatal. In most of the cases hematoma is caused due to head injury resulting from a fall, car accident, or fight, there are other factors contributing to them as well, including medical malpractice. The mentioned patient must have brain injury. In this situation too, the hospital staff can be sued for the medical malpractice.