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."
The only reason to sue would be to make sure that none of those people ever works in that health system again; otherwise, there's no case for monetary damages that I can see. Administration hates nothing so much as paying out a settlement; believe me, those foolish, silly staff members will be long gone by the time one is reached.
As they should be. I once fired a caregiver for taking a picture of one of our ALF residents and posting it on FB, even though the resident had given her permission---it's still a HIPAA violation, and just plain wrong to boot. The very old and very young---to say nothing of ANY patient under anesthesia---are all vulnerable and deserve protection. *Frankly, I hope the pranksters never get to work in healthcare again......Lord only knows the country doesn't need more idiots in positions of trust*.
Reading this reminds me of that one movie on LMN, where the woman was put under at the dentist's office and woke up pregnant. What's gonna happen is people are going to start insisting that a member of their family scrub up to go in the OR from start to finish. Their is no wonder the vast majority has to suffer because of the actions of a few. Reclaim our profession? Hell, we're handing it over on a silver platter!!! Patient satisfaction surveys are just a drop in the bucket, thanks to a couple of idiots and the like, who cannot contain themselves professionally for 12 damn hours!!!
Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.
I don't blame the lady one bit. Someone needs to be held accountable for this It infuriates me when I see/hear of the unprofessionalism of others. I'm held to a very high standard when it comes to protecting the rights and dignity of my patients. There are many people I care for that are in vulnerable positions every day. I would never in a million years think of snapping their picture and laughing about it/posting it. Grow up, people!
Just thinking if this were my parents or adult children...heads would roll.
It sounds like that hospital has a history of not protecting vulnerable patients. Suing them should force their hand to make some significant changes. I know the knee-jerk reaction on this site is to label all lawsuits as frivolous and based on greed, but they played around with her while she was unconscious and weren't fired. That's a hospital that needs a smack in the wallet to do the right thing.
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..
People are already scared enough of surgery and anesthesia. I am. You just kind of have to trust the people who are caring for you while you're completely unconscious. If I experienced this, that trust would be completely gone. This would cause emotional distress to say the least, including possibly endangering her future health. If she's later told she needs serious surgery, you can bet she'll hesitate, if not outright refuse because of this experience. This prank was humiliating for her and has far reaching consequences. They deserve to be sued.
The only pictures I've taken of a patient was using the patients cell phone (pt requested) and involved a pacemaker incision they wanted to see, and a wound that was healing the patient could not see under their lateral ribs. I have had patients ask to take my picture with them.
I've seen coworkers do stupid pranks to others mostly fellow coworkers, while they were awake I still think it was wrong. Thankfully they no longer work there. Still it is one of the reasons I would not want to be admitted where I work. You are vulnerable during and after surgery and don't know how you'll react to the anesthia. Just being hospitalized is stressful enough without worrying about your coworkers taking advantage to make fun of you. Save your jokes for outside the workplace!
Unfortunately the crappy insurance most people have makes it very difficult to go to another hospital. I think it sucks that in order to feel safe and maintain confidentiality you would have to spend thousands more, you are essentially being blackmailed to go the hospital you work at or one of their affiliates, but again with float pool going between the hospitals you still don't have real confidentiality! The last time I had surgery I had to pay an extra $2000 to go elsewhere, now it would be over $6,000.
A couple thoughts... How the heck is the hospital justifying not terminating employees who so egregiously violated federal law (HIPAA)? Why are we not hearing about the anesthesiologist and nursing assistant facing federal criminal charges under HIPAA, or the hospital facing HIPAA fines? The news report comes off as if HIPAA and its available sanctions are not even in the picture with this incident. In addition to criminal charges, the involved staff should be placed on state and federal employee disqualification lists and their licenses revoked. I hope the patient files complaints with the nursing and medical boards. The hospital won't be able to sweep those complaints under the rug and pretend like they are no big deal.
For those of you saying that you don't think the patient will win because she has not demonstrated "harm," keep in mind that she is suing for emotional distress. The courts have very often affirmed that this can be considered "harm."
LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN
8,429 Posts
I AGREE...especially your last sentence Viva!!!!