A Los Angeles woman is suing an area hospital and her anesthesiologist for allegedly putting a mustache and stickers on her face during surgery as part of a prank that she claims violated her dignity and endangered her health.
The unidentified woman, who worked as a surgical supply purchaser at the hospital, said her coworkers affixed a fake mustache above her lip and yellow tear drops below her left eye before a nurse snapped a photo, according to the suit.
"Perhaps the most vulnerable position any human being will ever endure in their life is a time when they are placed under full anesthesia," reads the lawsuit, which claims the woman was fully anesthetized rather than sedated "for the sole purpose of humiliating and embarrassing the patient."
So why was the attending nurse and physician allowed to have and or use their cellphone camera to take these pictures? Also if there is a true no camera policy why weren't their serious consequences and repercussions for this violation?
I am sure the answer would be that they weren't in surgery any more....they were in PACU.
So, in addition to the egregious violation of privacy......who paid for the cost of the anesthesia? Was insurance billed? Theft of services comes to mind as well as insurance fraud. If not billed to insurance, the hospital spent money to put somebody under.
I'd sue too. Poor woman was too embarrassed to continue working at this facility. This means she had to go look for another job and all the work that entails. It's hard and time consuming to look for other work even when it's your choice.
I saw that yesterday. SO no right that the staff did this there is no excuse. BUT, this woman says that they used a general anesthetic for the sole purpose of being able to humiliate her in this way? That's a bit of a stretch. I highly doubt the hospital would take on the risks that a general anesthetic brings over IV sedation for the sole purpose of putting stickers on her face..[/quote']
They did more than just put stickers on her face. They took suggestively sexual photos with her mouth open after they re provision her and then circulated photos without her knowledge.
They did more than just put stickers on her face. They took suggestively sexual photos with her mouth open after they re provision her and then circulated photos without her knowledge.
Wow. The staff involved can't claim ignorance because we all know about HIPPA, we know to do no harm, we know to advocate for pts, what the heck were these folks thinking? Really? Why do you have time to draw teardrops and mustaches on a pts face? Shouldn't you be preping for her surgery? Double and triple checking orders? Taking your time outs to verify its the correct procedure on the correct body part? Ummmm, how about providing pt care instead of using her body as a canvas for markers? I'm just undone.
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
Unbelievable....