You count on hospitals to provide you with the optimal care for your condition. Most patients know that they won’t get perfect care in the emergency room; however, they still expect care that aligns with or exceeds the established standard of care. A patient who is admitted to the hospital or gets outpatient care expects the same thing. Unfortunately, some patients don’t get that type of care.
Recently, testimony against the University of New Mexico Hospital notes that there was massive negligence in the facility’s pediatric oncology program. The proposed class-action lawsuit notes that there were 243 patients who had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were give outdated and diluted drugs. This increased their risk of having a relapse, and of dying due to the condition.
In early 1997, a new physician on the program found that while the national survival rate for ALL was higher than 70%, the survival rate for the hospital’s program was hovering around 50%. It is estimated that the issue began to occur around 1977.
Despite the review of the program that was done by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that was done in 1987 and found issues with protocol, the facility didn’t take action. The doctor who was responsible for the lax protocol retired in 1997. Since then, 93 settlements have occurred related to the issue. These totaled $52 million.
Any patient who feels they haven’t received proper care should review their legal options. These cases can involve serious harm, and there isn’t any reason why a patient should have to deal with them because of lax decisions by medical teams. Considerable damages can occur, which is the focus of the legal action patients can take.
