We have another case of an alleged horrific injury due to the ever-present delays at emergency rooms in the United States. Malyia Jeffers, 2, was left for hours in the ER at the Methodist Hospital in Sacramento as her Strep A devoured her body. She ultimately lost both of her feet and one of her hands to amputations and she is fighting for her life at Stanford University’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
The family arrived in early December when Malyia had developed a fever and was lethargic. She also had visible bruise-like splotches on her cheeks. They sat there for five hours despite the pleas of the parents.
She was in septic shock from a Streptococcus A infection. She is now on life support.
While Malyia’s parents have medical insurance, many of their bills are not covered, including the $26,000 bill for a helicopter ride from Sacramento to Palo Alto.
I am unclear why the helicopter ride is so expensive or why it would not be covered given the medical emergency. Moreover, I do not understand why Democrats and Republicans cannot agree that the current delays in the emergency room are nothing short of a national scandal. We have all experienced these waits in ER rooms. Putting aside the current debate over the health care program, it remain a national disgrace that citizens routinely wait for hours for care. Yet, these same legislators who refuse to do anything about these lethal days are often those supporting caps on recovery for families in tort cases.
Obviously, there is a tort case in the making here for negligence. However, it could turn on factual causation question of whether Strep A would likely have resulted in the same amputations even if properly diagnosed. It would make for a poor jury case, however, for the hospital if this should go to trial.
Source: SacBee
Jonathan Turley
Frank,
Boy, I bet you’re going to feel bad when you discover why J. Brian writes the way he does.
Personally, I love the style of his prose, and he adds to the conversation. You just flung poo.
Everyone else,
It’s almost like we have a system that forces things to go untreated until they are an emergency, overcrowding emergency rooms.
PhD, P.E. – is that physical education, because you write like you are counting off push-ups.
Oh my…and the ink for the pen and check book is kept by whom….
Death is one of the benefits of life?
Don’t believe it?
Google: “life insurance” AND “death benefits”
More than 2 million results per my search moments ago.
No death which happens is preventable; no death which happened was preventable, no death which will happen will be preventable.
How on earth do I know and understand this?
Because a death which happens happens.
Because a death which happened happened.
Because a death which will happen will happen.
All preventable deaths are prevented, we never know which deaths they are because they never happen.
All unpreventable deaths happen and we may know what they are as they happen.
Cruelty cannot be prevented until we know and understand what it is and why it is.
Abuse cannot be prevented until we know and understand what it is and why it is.
Death is one of the benefits of life.
I just ate one raisin, masticating it diligently. It is very dead; I am alive and slightly more Fed.
When will the Fed be dead?
Psychosis may, at its essential tap root, be the interchanging of hypotheticals with actualities.
Swarthmore mom,
And I wanted to add, “I’m sorry”… It makes it all the more difficult, when the death is preventable.
I have a family member that is an ER doc. I know how the ER’s are staffed. You are right, Buddah.
“The ER is just like the drive-through at a restaurant. It’s a craps shoot.” -Buddha
True. It is.
Swarthmore mom,
It’s heartbreaking, especially when there are so many excellent ER physicians in this country…
The ER is just like the drive-through at a restaurant.
It’s a craps shoot as to whether you’ve got the A team working the counter or the guys who pissed off administration.
My mother did not receive the proper treatment at an ER and died as a result.
Its rather astounding to live in this so called marvelous age of technology and vast wealth & rescourses that could go along way to clearing this sort of things up. But its really the lack of political will and desire that’s holding it back and dare I say it ” compassion ” for our fellow man. Anon nurse hit it bang on in saying…………” A triage failure, to say the least.” that in this society should never be acceptable on any level.
BBB,
Absolutely the very best possible advice.
Pediatrics is such a tough field, and generally one of the lowest paid in the medical profession. Children lack the ability to sufficiently articulate their symptoms. For this reason, I suggest that parents take their children to the ER at a children’s hospital whenever possible.
I agree completely, BBB. The physician at the urgent care center could have phoned the ER (and should have phoned the ER)… It’s a very tragic case…
(Having worked in ERs, there are times when one hardly has time to breathe.)
Bud
1, January 3, 2011 at 10:15 am
“I am unclear why the helicopter ride is so expensive or why it would not be covered given the medical emergency.”
Sacramento to Palo Alto.
$333.33 per nautical mile
Answer: PROFIT
====================================================
And that says it all … the entire story!
“I am unclear why the helicopter ride is so expensive or why it would not be covered given the medical emergency.”
Sacramento to Palo Alto.
$333.33 per nautical mile
Answer: PROFIT
There is a part of the story where I think something important is missing. The parents took Malyia to an urgent care facility. “Specialists” at the urgent care facility allegedly “told them to go to the emergency room”.
A two year old presenting with a 103 degree fever is bound to be lethargic, but is not generally considered to be an emergency situation. Therefore, it begs the question; what did the physician at the urgent care see, and why didn’t that get passed on to the ER? I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome, but when a physician sees something indicative of the need for emergency treatment beyond the capabilities of urgent care there needs to be some protocol that would expedite the child being seen at the ER.
“Yet, these same legislators who refuse to do anything about these lethal days are often those supporting caps on recovery for families in tort cases.”
And get the best of care on our dime.B@#!$%^S!!
A triage failure, to say the least…
“So where is the much vaunted compassion and sympathy here that we all hear about in the medical field…………….” – M. Wrytter
Sadly and tragically, it’s often MIA…
“Putting aside the current debate over the health care program, it remain a national disgrace that citizens routinely wait for hours for care.” -Jonathan Turley
I couldn’t agree more. This is a horrible story, which further illustrates the need to take care of our own crumbling house…
Shakes my head in disgust as to why a mere 2 yer old who has no say in things has to be left to suffer needlessly the rest of their life because of the dithering’s someone screwing up. Was it not plain and visible that the child was already in distress medically and its now been compounded by the loss of both feet and a hand??. So where is the much vaunted compassion and sympathy here that we all hear about in the medical field……………..
….oversight??……………is that the excuse??……what of the amount of money this person will require over the years to fit him with feet and hands that that will change as he grows???