Hospital Neglect                                    

Over 250,000 people are discharged from Utah hospitals every year. Unfortunately, some hospitals are ill-equipped to handle this kind of patient traffic and irregularities arise due to sheer over-crowdedness.

Common Cases

• Hospitals look the other way when doctors perform more operations than they are equipped to handle – simply because these operations are a big source of revenue for hospitals.
• Doctors perform too many procedures in too short a period of time, which results in over-worked nurses and doctors taking short-cuts.

Actual Case:
$4.79M awarded in October 2003 in Texas.

The Case:
A clogged breathing tube caused respiratory arrest and severe brain damage (permanent vegetative state).

The Details:
The plaintiff was admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital with pneumonia and renal failure. He was placed on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube. The tube became clogged. The patient went into respiratory arrest and then a Code was called. The doctors who responded revived him. However, he suffered permanent brain damage. He is now in a persistent semi-vegetative state, requires feeding through a PEG tube and lifetime 24-hour care.

According to Verdict Search Texas Reporter, the jury found the hospital negligent and awarded $4,795,552 in damages. Final judgment was $5,152,416, including prejudgment interest and court costs.