Their disabled sister dead, two nurses find system failed to care for her
September 13th, 2007Front page feature from the Los Angeles Times.
After Linda Sue Brown died in the Brotman Medical Center, her sisters decided to find out what happened. What the investigation revealed about the death of Brown, who had an intellectual disability, shook their faith in the medical profession.
Brotman staffers, [state] inspectors found, had failed Brown in virtually every way: Her nurses — Allen’s colleagues — appear to have forged consent forms and had Brown sign agreements that she couldn’t understand. One failed to call for help as Brown’s vital signs plummeted.
Her doctors didn’t investigate signs of heart failure, performed a risky emergency surgery with no clear justification and then didn’t intervene as her condition deteriorated. And hospital officials didn’t even look into what went wrong until inspectors inquired.
“That is just a pretty phenomenal failure,” said Dr. Eric J. Thomas, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas, Houston, and a patient safety expert who reviewed Brown’s medical records and the state report for the Los Angeles Times.
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