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.

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.

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

The three scenarios are a death due to overdose, failure to administer blood, and subdural hematoma.

1. ANS: If the death was the result of an overdose:

There could be a claim for negligence. The main issue I see with the write-up is it does not divulge how much or what they discussed with the 46-year-old man. The write-up states they observed the patient for several hours. A propensity for drug addiction isn't apparent just by a patient's appearance. During those several hours there was no communication with the patient. The write-up does state the individual was able to answer questions, however it does not state the medical team questioned the 46-year-old man for medical history. There was also no blood panel or urine sample run by the laboratory. The write-up also does not speak of looking for medical records in digital format either. From the limited write-up given, it seems the doctors and nurses were not thorough in acquiring necessary information to make the correct informed decision. Treating every patient like a suspect is not necessary, but asking questions and verifying medical history is. A good attorney could make a compelling case stating that the medical staff was negligent in obtaining the necessary information for an informed decision.

2. ANS: If the result of a failure to administer blood:

The attorney could make a very compelling case in that the 46-year-old man was not in a valid mindset to make the refusal for a blood transfusion. If the doctors would have requested medical information from the patient, verbally, and he lied to them, they would have less chance of liability. However, as with the previous what if statement, the medical staff did not make an effort to determine the medical background either electronically or verbally and therefore was unable to make a proper decision. This decision created a chain reaction in which because they could not properly determine he was in a state of mind to make medical decisions was not given a necessary life-saving medical procedure.

An attorney could make a case the medical team did not respond correctly and should have come to the conclusion he was unable to make a proper medical decision in his mental state.

3. ANS: If the death was the result of a subdural hematoma:

I believe the medical staff by watching him for several hours would have recognized symptoms of a subdural hematoma. From the write-up the 46-year-old man did not seem to be confused, have speech difficulties, or seizures. Items in which would have warranted greater care. Headaches are common with an automobile accident. Movement difficulties, loss of sensation, lethargy, and vomiting also are quite common with automobile accidents. All of these could be from the trauma and by themselves would not point towards a subdural hematoma.

            The only potential for negligence is in dealing with the “great deal of pain.” The “great deal of pain” the man was stating is not described in the write-up. The location(s) would be a great indicator to the medical staff. If they did not get additional information from the patient on the extent or where his pain was derived from, there could be a case for negligence. However, from the extremely limited write-up I would not be able to determine whether I would call this negligence or not. I would require additional information from the medical staff to make a determination of medical negligence in the case of a report stating the death was due to a subdural hematoma.

            The limited write-up made it quite difficult to determine if fault could be proven in a court of law. Right now, with the very limited evidence, I see a difficult road ahead for any litigation. A more extensive investigation is required for any proper accusation of negligence.

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