Summary
of the Case
Iturralde v. Hilo Medical Center, USA, is one
of the most famous cases in the history of the United States. The Intermediate
Court of Appeals of Hawaii decided it on March 30, 2012. In this case,
Iturralde had sued Dr. Robert Ricketson and Hilo Medical Center because of
medical malpractice that caused a lot of complications for the patient.
According to the case, Dr. Robert Ricketson did not perform his duties in a
better way. He chose to act below the standards maintained by the healthcare
center (Fremgen, 2016). He had willingly implanted a shaft of the screwdriver
into the spine of the patient. Iturralde was diagnosed with degenerative
spondylolisthesis and was asked to get a spinal fusion surgery as soon as
possible. The doctor chose to use a shaft when he could not locate the two
titanium rods which were supposed to be used in the operation. Later on, the
stainless steel screwdriver shafts snapped when they were placed in the back of
the patient. In 2001, Iturralde passed away, and Dr. Ricketson denied before
the court that he had provided the low-quality treatment to the patient. The
court immediately ordered the hospital to pay up to $5.5 million to Iturralde’s
family and nearly $3.3 million in punitive damages. The case was regarded as a
case of medical negligence because the doctor was responsible for the death of
the patient directly or indirectly.
Medical
Malpractice Component
On the basis of this case, we can say that
Dr. Ricketson was responsible for providing the patient with the best
treatment. However, he did not act professionally and neglected Iturralde which
is why his death caused two years after the treatment. In addition, the doctor
could not confirm whether or not the necessary equipment for surgery were
available in the operation theater. It is a moral, ethical, and legal duty of
every doctor or nurse to check the availability of medical equipment before
conducting a surgery. Not only this but also the negligence of this doctor is
revealed at the highest level. He was supposed to use some non-recommended
equipment rather than those titanium rods that were made available to him. The
malpractice of this doctor, as well as his negligence, caused the death of
Iturralde.
Furthermore, it was because of Dr.
Ricketson’s negligence that a famous medical center was accused (Gasior, 2017).
The life of the patient could be saved if Feldmeyer had alerted the
administrator of Hilo Medical Center about what Dr. Ricketson was going to do.
Physicians who neglect their patients are supposed to be punished or fired on
an immediate basis. Feldmeyer was present at the scene when Dr. Ricketson was
committing a medical mistake. However, she did not say anything until the
things got out of control. All medical centers are required to check the
credentials of their surgeons and nurses. The main reason for hiring surgeons
or physicians us to provide proper medical services to patients, and if someone
is not able to assist patients in a better way, then they should not stay in
the hospital or clinic. In this case, Hilo Medical Center could not take these
things into consideration and hired an unskilled and unqualified person.
Another thing we need to notice is that Dr.
Ricketson agreed to undertake the surgical operation. This means he was
responsible for saving the life of the patient (Moore et al. 2000). Every
surgeon has to do so because they are hired to provide treatment facilities or
services to their patients. For this purpose, they have to make the wise and
correct use of medical equipment. By implanting the screwdriver shafts into the
patient’s spine, this doctor breached his professional duty and did not provide
quality services to Iturralde. The use of screwdriver shafts rather than
titanium rods was a breach of duty, as medical centers never allow anyone to
use these kinds of things during surgeries. Because of the negligence of Dr.
Ricketson, the entire hospital’s reputation got impacted. The situation got
worsened when the patient lost his life rather than recovering from the
illness. It aligns to the notion that incompetent and unskilled people manage
healthcare institutions. Although Hilo Medical Center was not fully responsible
for this malpractice, its image was impacted because of the presence and act of
Dr. Ricketson.
Healthcare experts belonging to different
backgrounds, cultures, and races would definitely call it a case of negligence
or malpractice. This is because the trust of consumers might be lost in these
kinds of healthcare facilities. In addition, people suffering from chronic
illnesses may look for other options rather than coming to this hospital where
an innocent patient lost his life. The patients usually have no idea of what
treatments options are best for them, so it is the duty of a physician to
provide them with the best care options. It is now evident that there is no
room for such malpractices in the healthcare industry. Dr. Ricketson could have
waited for the right medical equipment to arrive, but he did not do so and
began the operation. His team could also ask him not to operate the patient,
but they did not do anything like that, so everyone is held liable for the lack
of accountability.
Ethical
Component
As far as the ethical component(s) of this
case is concerned, we can say that it is the duty of every surgeon to respect
the professional code of ethics and to look after their patients in a better
way. They are also responsible for providing them with quick surgery whenever
needed, but at the same time, they should not use non-recommended or wrong
types of equipment during operation. In some situations, physicians are not
sure of what they need to use and this is what happened in this case. The
doctor had to face an ethical dilemma due to his negligence and because of
selecting the wrong medical equipment.
Recommendations
A number of strategies can be implemented to
improve the overall performance of medical experts. First of all, medical
centers should hire surgeons or physicians after checking their credentials
thoroughly or properly. Secondly, if someone is inexperienced, then they need
to be provided with proper training of how to work under pressure and how to
follow the rules and regulations of the medical center before allowing them to
work full-time. These kinds of issues can be avoided in the future if a surgeon
or physician uses the correct medical equipment. Last but not least, medical
centers need to establish superior cultural humanity in which healthcare
experts are allowed to maintain their interpersonal attitudes as well as the
cultural identity of every patient.
References
Fremgen, B. F. (2016). Medical law
and ethics (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Gasior, M. (2017, June 26). Creating a
Culture of Accountability in Healthcare. Retrieved January 15, 2018, from https://www.powerdms.com/blog/creating-culture-accountability-healthcare/
Moore, P. J., Adler, N. E., & Robertson,
P. A. (2000). Medical malpractice: the effect of doctor-patient relations on
medical patient perceptions and malpractice intentions. Western Journal
of Medicine, 173(4), 244–250.
