Loss of a patient may have been foreseeable
According to a recent news report, state inspectors and investigators are focusing their attention on the conditions in a well-known Tucson residential health clinic, and the possibility of medical malpractice there after the suicide of a patient undergoing treatment.
As indicated in the investigative findings by the Arizona Department of Health Services, a patient ended his life by hanging from a shower head less than a week after being admitted to this clinic for mental health treatment.
Ex-staffers have indicated they’re not surprised by the patient’s death, which was the third death of a resident at the facility during the past seven years. The patient’s family is rightly pursuing the facility through legal avenues.
After a patient death a simple “review” may be inadequat
For its part, the facility’s administrators are “reviewing what happened to see if we can make improvements that might enhance the quality of patient care” according to a spokesman for the company which owns the healthcare facility.
Still, this response seems inadequate from a facility which has previously lost several other patients entrusted to its care within a relatively short period of time. Something more should be done.
The state regulatory agency, apparently weary after repeated similar problems at the facility, said that the facility need not file a corrective plan as it had done previously, since this time the authorities were “going straight to enforcement.”
This healthcare facility and others are owned by a large, California-based investment company which is well known for squeezing its operations in order to obtain maximum profits. At press time, the company was still preparing its response.
Who’s responsible?
Although it’s difficult to know the exact circumstances and responsibility for this patient’s untimely death, still, it seems that further action is needed so that other patients and their families can rest easier. Patients with mental-health issues deserve better care, and their rights must be preserved.
If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of medical malpractice in Tucson or the Pima County area, regardless of the type of hospital or treatment facility where the hurt occurred, you should contact a legal professional who specializes in resolving medical malpractice issues.
Bob Barber is Tucson’s top medical malpractice specialist attorney. He and his team can quickly help determine what happened, work to correct unsafe situations, and win the financial compensation to which you are entitled.
Do you want answers?
Call the Bob Barber Law Firm at 520-293-4440.