Comments on: How to Force a Good Doctor out of Clinical Practise

By: Danni

Danni — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:22:47 +0000

People wether legal or illegal have rights. Just becasue they are illegal does not mean that they should be disregarded. A medical health professional should be a medical humanitist. The fact that the girl was Mexican, European, African, Asian, American, Arabian, Australian etc should not be the focal point of this case. The problem is that people form all back grounds want to be secure- as it is a basic human need. People will grab money if it’s available, may be with the original intention of thinking that have been wronged. Not every one is priveledged with god education and money.

By: Had Enough

Had Enough — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:25:39 +0000

I agree the fact that a lawsuit ensued is completely asinine, but, all medical facts & opinions on the case aside, it is SUPREMELY asinine that an illegal immigrant have any rights to even sue!! If I were to rob a bank, could I keep the money I took after I was caught? Of course not! The money would be returned as I obtained it illegally and we are not allowed to benefit and/or profit in America from illegal activity. Well, after we get past the fact that she’s an illegal immigrant, anything that does or benefits from is due to an illegal activity. Different setting, same principle. I mention this because near where I live several illegal immigrants cross over the Mexican/American border just to come here to have their children here, it is paid for with by SCHIP dollar(funded by U.S. taxpayers through a program in my state called Phase IV), and then, having their baby here illegally, gives the illegal immigrant legal rights that should not be. This not only is a strain on taxpayers(through U.S. tax dollars & state tax dollars-generally on a 70%-30% ratio), but also, as in this case, on our medical professionals with not only having to worry about being sued, but also with their malpractice insurance. This wrong to have to put this extra strain on our medical professionals. There are now 300 million people in America legally. They do not need the added worry about people who come here specifically for their help, but illegally, having the right to sue them.

By: CensoreDrake

CensoreDrake — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:58:13 +0000

Wow, that is a powerful story. I can only say that I’m glad you could save the girls life, regardless of what had to be done. The fact that a lawsuit ensued is completely asinine. I compliment the fact that she still does try to help. Hats off to ya’.

By: TK

TK — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 03:19:49 +0000

Regardless of the race - I can’t imagine that they would rather have had the girl die with her uterus intact. Also, even if the loss of the uterus was distressing to the family, a lawsuit is not a reasonable way to settle such a loss when the alternative was death. I bet had she died they would have sued just the same however.

By: Zee

Zee — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:36:59 +0000

Was she Latina?

I don’t want to sound like I’m stereotyping here, but Latino culture puts a very high premium on families and children. So for this very young woman, to lose her uterus and no longer be able to have children would be pretty devastating.

Sometimes when you save lives, it comes at a cost to the patient. And you can get so caught up in the adrenalin that you never acknowledge the price the patient and family might be paying. Instead, the attitude can be, “We saved your life; how dare you be ungrateful!”

Not saying it’s right or wrong, or that this situation wasn’t unfair. But it might help explain the family’s reaction. Our own prism of beliefs and values and culture and life experiences isn’t the only way to see the world.

By: Guy

Guy — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:10:38 +0000

many times this is what drives people from the industry.
personally I think that we need to be able to tell people we can’t take care of them.

I went to the attorney’s office and said I’m getting sued for a car accident, he said that will be $10,000, I don’t have it, so I left.

It doesn’t work the same for the doctor, they have no choice, and they typically don’t get paid for the work they do.

By: atyourcervix

atyourcervix — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:37:29 +0000

That’s a shame that the OB doc decided to get out of the field because of this incident (I’m sure this probably was not the only one…I hope…..that caused him/her to want to get out of the business entirely!). But, kudos to him/her for saving that 17 yr old’s LIFE!

By: admin

admin — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:47:54 +0000

Well, I can tell you - regardless of whether the cord was pulled too hard (which I don’t see how it could cause the uterus to become atonic), the fact is, she tried for over several hours to prevent the hysterectomy. There was not a shred of doubt in the support staffs’ support of the final decision. And besides, the girl and baby lived.

By: Seen it happen

Seen it happen — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:21:03 +0000

It is possible to be guilty of serious error (or one of your support staff under your supervisionmay be guilty), AND try to heroically save your patient.
Glossed over here, since there are no facts shared to shed light on the actual allegations, and this a sketchy anecdote, is the potential to bring about this kind of obstetric catastrophe with impatience and one tug too enthusiastic on the cord. If it didn’t happen here, it does happen.

There was no settlement at all, so known facts did not support one.
But I suggest to you, perhaps the doctor’s distress stemmed from lack of full confidence in her monitoring of this patient immediately after delivery, or her
suspicion that an ob nurse had tried to hurry things up. Because I can’t see her doubting for one moment the ultimate necessity of hysterectomy.

By: Nick__C

Nick__C — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:50:04 +0000

I was talking to my lab partner in my organic chemistry class the other day. We were talking about medical school, and she said that she didn’t really want to practice medicine, just have the degree in her background in preparation for law school. “Oh,” I replied, “so instead of practicing medicine, you’ll be putting the people who practice medicine out of business.”

By: scalpel

scalpel — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:10:29 +0000

And if she’d died, the doc would have been sued for not performing the hysterectomy soon enough.

By: Canaries In The Coal Mine « WhiteCoat Rants

Canaries In The Coal Mine « WhiteCoat Rants — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:13:32 +0000

[…] ER Stories tells about a doctor leaving practice after being sued for saving someone’s life. […]

By: Jesslev

Jesslev — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:26:58 +0000

That just Sux!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:41:38 +0000

OK - I think there was a conflict with the add that was below this post - appears to be fine now.