Snow Storm Lawsuit Summary
The Snow Storm Lawsuit
This case is about a lawsuit that generated from a small community hospital due to a snow storm. During the storm many hospital health care providers were unable to report to work due to the weather, and the Chief Executive Officer was vacationing in the Bahamas. In the meantime, many patients suffered from lack of care and injuries. As a result, many relatives of those patients decided to sue the hospital on their behalf after they died a year later for negligence, duty of care, and wrongful death. This paper will identify and explain the legal, ethical, professional, and business considerations that the hospital would have to face under the unfortunate circumstances. Identify and explain at least three legal considerations. …show more content…
The scenario made it perfectly clear that the hospital was severely understaffed to accommodate the medical needs of the patients. Malpractice occur when medical professionals act improperly or unethically (Baker, 2006, p.120). This legal issued can be determined when patients died as a result of wrong medications being administered during their visit. “Sometimes the wrong medication is given because the nurse was in a hurry and didn’t double check, the medication was shelved wrong, the doctor prescribed the wrong medication, or the patient was given another patient’s medication” (Pritzker, 2012). Incidents as such, have a higher possibility of taking place when health care staffs are overworked. According to the scenario, the patient units were understaffed, and health care personnel on day shift had to stay until they were relieved from their duties, and this causes fatigue which causes an increased risk of negligence that leads to …show more content…
It is should always be a factor of what the public perception will be when speaking about the reputation of someone making medical decision about their health. “Crisis management has to do with the manner in which the hospital responded to unexpected events over which they have little or no control” (Baker, 2006, P.20). With the CEO on vacation, there should always be someone in the management position that is able to pick up the slack in their absence. Not having a crisis management plan in place as part of the safety and emergency strategy could cause the hospital to lose valuable much needed business to a larger more prepared competitor. Being able to plan for public perception will provide the credibility protection needed and the ability to recover after crisis like the snow storm
This case is about a lawsuit that generated from a small community hospital due to a snow storm. During the storm many hospital health care providers were unable to report to work due to the weather, and the Chief Executive Officer was vacationing in the Bahamas. In the meantime, many patients suffered from lack of care and injuries. As a result, many relatives of those patients decided to sue the hospital on their behalf after they died a year later for negligence, duty of care, and wrongful death. This paper will identify and explain the legal, ethical, professional, and business considerations that the hospital would have to face under the unfortunate circumstances. Identify and explain at least three legal considerations. …show more content…
The scenario made it perfectly clear that the hospital was severely understaffed to accommodate the medical needs of the patients. Malpractice occur when medical professionals act improperly or unethically (Baker, 2006, p.120). This legal issued can be determined when patients died as a result of wrong medications being administered during their visit. “Sometimes the wrong medication is given because the nurse was in a hurry and didn’t double check, the medication was shelved wrong, the doctor prescribed the wrong medication, or the patient was given another patient’s medication” (Pritzker, 2012). Incidents as such, have a higher possibility of taking place when health care staffs are overworked. According to the scenario, the patient units were understaffed, and health care personnel on day shift had to stay until they were relieved from their duties, and this causes fatigue which causes an increased risk of negligence that leads to …show more content…
It is should always be a factor of what the public perception will be when speaking about the reputation of someone making medical decision about their health. “Crisis management has to do with the manner in which the hospital responded to unexpected events over which they have little or no control” (Baker, 2006, P.20). With the CEO on vacation, there should always be someone in the management position that is able to pick up the slack in their absence. Not having a crisis management plan in place as part of the safety and emergency strategy could cause the hospital to lose valuable much needed business to a larger more prepared competitor. Being able to plan for public perception will provide the credibility protection needed and the ability to recover after crisis like the snow storm