Wrongful Death Lawsuit???
Posted by Patti on April 24th, 2006 / Print This Post
I say this is BOGUS. It smells of a selfishness I can’t describe.
A Bibb County, Georgia, jury awarded the family of James Davis $1.16 million in compensatory damages on Thursday after he died in September 2002 from an infection stemming from falls and negligent care at North Macon Health Care Nursing Home in Macon, Georgia. The family chose to let their loved one die with dignity instead of undergoing an amputation and putting in a permanent feeding tube, a decision defense attorneys criticized during the trial.Davis was a 62-year-old stroke victim with a paralyzed right side who was confined to a motorized wheelchair. He fell nine times during his one-year stay at the nursing home. One fall from a wheelchair fractured his right hip and required hip replacement surgery.
One June 1, 2002, less than a month after the hip replacement surgery, he fell again. This time he fell out of his bed, which did not have its side rails up. The fall split open his hip at the surgical wound site where it became infected. Court testimony showed the staff did not follow hospital orders to clean the wound for four days and he became infected with his own urine and feces. Surgery to treat the infection was unsuccessful. As a result, Mr. Davis developed severe circulation problems in his leg and the doctors offered an option of amputation from the hip down, along with a permanent feeding tube. Doctors also recommended the patient and family consider only comfort care.
His family decided against the surgery, making a “comfort only” or hospice care decision. “The quality of my father’s life vastly deteriorated and would have become worse,” said Scott Davis, the man’s son. Since Mr. Davis did not have a living will, Scott made the painful decision to let his father die with as much dignity as possible. “This was the more humane option instead of undergoing more operations that would rob him of his dignity, leave him on a feeding tube and an amputated leg,” he said.
May 19th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I’m a fresh graduate of BSN in the Philippines and i didn’t take the local board exam.i surf in the internet about job offerings for those who really want to work while having their review for board exam for nursing.i chose to try as a nursing assistant and it was stated in one of their requirements that you are desired CNA.now my question is,can i work as a nursing assistant even without the certification or not?is really necessary to have a CNA if your going to apply as a nursing assistant?And if so,how can i be a CNA?i hope you can help me with this.thank u very much.god bless.
July 1st, 2006 at 12:20 am
Without the full medical history and documentation of this patient, its difficult to *jump to a conclusion*. Would I agree that its a bogus case? Absolutely not! Get educated on wounds and patient care before making an assumption that “its not feasible” or “highly unlikely to be true”. Were you there? Did you personally treat the patient that you can make such a conclusion? The man died due to the complications endured that were a direct result from the falls- end of story and beginning of lawsuit.