LA hospital dumping case comes to conclusion

Posted by greg
June 27, 2008

 MercuryNews.com reports that the Los Angeles dumping case of a paraplegic in skid row on the ground still in his hospital garb has come to completion. Mr. Gabino Olvera who was helped by people walking by, has won an undisclosed amount of money for pain and suffering. The hospital lost the case which alleged the hospital was negligent in treatment and discharged him into a dangerous situation where he was unable to care for himself. The hospital agreed to new protocols for discharging patients so that they are in a safe condition before a driver leaves. There is also a court appointed referee that watches over how patients are treated and verifies that they are safe after they are dropped off at home. In addition, the hospital is to pay $1 million to two Hollywood service agencies that provide medical services to the homeless and those recovering at home from hospital stays. Civil penalties in the amount of $10,000 and $50,000 in investigative fees are also to be paid by the hospital. Finally the city has passed a law making it a misdemeanor to drop someone off anywhere except their home without written consent.

 
While it is good to see that Me. Olvera has been compensated for the horrible way in which the hospital dumped him in skid row to die, the hospital seems to have been let off the hook. Where is the investigation of the board of regents of the hospital? Where are the permanent state officials that are assigned to the hospital to verify that they will always do the right thing? When is the next time the hospital is to be dragged into court to explain how they are complying with the judgement? What training programs are ongoing to all hospital employees and contractors are in place to make sure everyone understands and complies with the law? It appears that the hospital had a good legal team and paid everyone off and now gets to move on. What about the other patients that were dumped on skid row? What happened to them? Will there be an investigation of their disappearance and will anyone find out if they still need medical care? Why are the regents of the hospital still in charge? It was obvious that the dumping procedures came from teh top in an effort to cut costs even though people could die. THe hospital should be forced to start with a completely new management team that understands that the hospital is part of the community and responsible to those it cares for. Here is for hope that we don’t have to report again about this problem again.
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