Are Medical Malpractice Regulations Too Lenient? | Seattle Personal Injury Law Office

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Medical malpractice has long been a hot issue. Being a Seattle personal injury lawyer and working with medical malpractice claims I have heard both sides of the argument. One side of the issue claims that malpractice lawsuits have increased the cost of healthcare with the high cost of malpractice insurance sky-rocketing the price of healthcare. On the other side, however, is the view that if not held accountable our medical care system’s treatment of patients will decrease dramatically. Recently, a Seattle family has found that not only did malpractice lead to the death of a husband, and father, but the hospital was able to go without reporting it and has kept a clean record for no medical errors.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Gary Clezie was going into Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center for a routine shoulder surgery, but died due to the drugs administered to him. An opiate pain medication, Dilaudid, was administered through an IV and Clezie was able to regulate an extra amount when pain was unbearable. Opiads are depressants and an overdose will lead to respiratory arrest, because of this Clezie was supposed to be hooked up to a heart monitor which would monitor the amount of oxygen in his blood. The hospital failed to hook Clezie up to the heart monitor, as a result he stopped breathing, the hospital was able to resuscitate him, but Clezie suffered brain damage as a result.

The Clezie family contacted the department of health regarding the matter and discovered that not only did Yakima Regional not report the incident as required by law, according to the law they technically did not have to because Clezie did not die in surgery. What’s more, in spite of the fact that Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center treats hundreds of thousands of patients every year they have not reported a single medical error since the law went into effect 5 years ago.

The Clezie family is now in a battle against Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center for the death of Gary Clezie. The hospital maintains that it is not necessarily because of medical error that Clezie died, but with the administration of Diluadid being the only rational reason for his repertory arrest the hospital seems to be trying to get away without taking any responsibility.

In cases of wrongful death such as this one it is essential that the family hires an aggressive and experienced Washington wrongful death attorney. An experienced attorney will know the ins and outs of the process and knows how to deal with hospitals and their representatives. If you believe you have been affected by a Seattle wrongful death like this one, do not hesitate to get the information you need. I have written a book “In Case of Death: Straight Talk on Washington Wrongful Death” to help you figure out if you do have a case and what actions to take. You may order this book Free of charge by clicking on the link above- you may also schedule a free consultation with the Seattle personal injury Law Firm, Premier Law Group to discuss your case.

For more information on this medical malpractice story, click on the preceding link.