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This is a reasonable question. I've encountered situations where someone died following surgery and when I read the medical records, I sometimes find myself questioning the decision to operate. For example, what if the patient is sixty-nine years old, has a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, is overweight (not obese) and has diabetes? Let's further state that the patient had back pain and radiculopathy in his extremities. The surgery is spinal disc surgery designed to remove a ruptured disc impinging on a nerve in his lumbar spine. The argument is that all surgery contains risk and the question is whether the benefits of surgery outweigh the risk. However, the in the case I just mentioned, surgery was not a life/death matter. What it was about was treating a condition of pain and numbness that was bothering the patient a great deal. Patient had all the risks disclosed to him and signed an Informed Consent form.
Patients can sign an Informed Consent form, yet I still think there should be some point where the surgeon refuses to operate, despite the willingness of the patient to consent.
Ultimately, I think it becomes a question of just how much risk there is and the surgeon's ability evaluate that risk and make a decision. I think most people would be reluctant to second guess that decision.
In this case, we don't know what the outcome would have been if surgery hadn't been performed. Sleep apnea can be life-threatening in extreme situations. The fact that the girl had reached the point she had with her weight tells me the family either wouldn't or couldn't do anything about her problem.
She survived the surgery and was doing okay. The problem was her family. There was, at one point, a YouTube video in which the grandmother admits having suctioned the girl. IMHO, what she didn’t survive was her family.
It is a shame in this instance that the hospital is barred from telling its side of the story.
She survived the surgery and was doing okay. The problem was her family. There was, at one point, a YouTube video in which the grandmother admits having suctioned the girl. IMHO, what she didn’t survive was her family.
It is a shame in this instance that the hospital is barred from telling its side of the story.
In the unlikely event this case actually makes it to trial, the hospital's side of the story will be a matter of public record. Healthcare organizations are allowed to breach patient confidentiality in order to defend themselves in a court of law.
In the unlikely event this case actually makes it to trial, the hospital's side of the story will be a matter of public record. Healthcare organizations are allowed to breach patient confidentiality in order to defend themselves in a court of law.
What has been revealed about the family's behavior has largely come from observations by people who are not constrained by HIPAA, including family members of other patients. I would not be surprised if some of them volunteer to testify on behalf of the hospital and staff.
What has been revealed about the family's behavior has largely come from observations by people who are not constrained by HIPAA, including family members of other patients. I would not be surprised if some of them volunteer to testify on behalf of the hospital and staff.
I hope they do. My son (a nurse) and I have tried to follow this from the beginning and I think very little of the family’s behavior after the girl’s unfortunate demise in the PICU and less of their lawyer’s. (I do have some sympathy for them with regard to the child’s death itself and especially for the other children.)
What has been revealed about the family's behavior has largely come from observations by people who are not constrained by HIPAA, including family members of other patients. I would not be surprised if some of them volunteer to testify on behalf of the hospital and staff.
We can only hope. Sometimes juries award ridiculous amounts for seemingly unwarranted events. So, it remains to be seen whether this all can be proven in a court of law. There are people out there constantly beating the drum for this family and "this poor girl".........
Truly sad and a poor testament to the goodness of the human race.
This case makes me VERY angry. The girl was never going to live anywhere close to a normal life or have any GOOD qualify of life whatsoever, and yet her family chose to keep her body alive for almost five years. How much of that WHOPPER of a hospital bill will they end up paying for? How much of it has been passed on to others in the form of higher insurance premiums? (Not just the McMath bill but including other cases similar to hers.) It is no wonder that hospital costs and insurance premiums are so insane!
Don't misunderstand -- IF there had been even a 1% chance that Jahi would have been able to eventually communicate or hear or see or even to smile from enjoyment of ice cream or whenever she heard her mom's voice, I could understand the decision to keep her body alive in the hope that she would eventually have some good quality of life -- but there was NO chance that this would ever happen short of a bona-fide God-given miracle, and I am convinced that every sane person around her with an IQ of at least 90 knew it.
This case makes me VERY angry. The girl was never going to live anywhere close to a normal life or have any GOOD qualify of life whatsoever, and yet her family chose to keep her body alive for almost five years. How much of that WHOPPER of a hospital bill will they end up paying for? How much of it has been passed on to others in the form of higher insurance premiums? (Not just the McMath bill but including other cases similar to hers.) It is no wonder that hospital costs and insurance premiums are so insane!
Don't misunderstand -- IF there had been even a 1% chance that Jahi would have been able to eventually communicate or hear or see or even to smile from enjoyment of ice cream or whenever she heard her mom's voice, I could understand the decision to keep her body alive in the hope that she would eventually have some good quality of life -- but there was NO chance that this would ever happen short of a bona-fide God-given miracle, and I am convinced that every sane person around her with an IQ of at least 90 knew it.
They moved the girl to New Jersey where the state's Medicaid covered it. Apparently, and it's somewhat shadowy, some private foundation also threw some money in early on.
They moved the girl to New Jersey where the state's Medicaid covered it. Apparently, and it's somewhat shadowy, some private foundation also threw some money in early on.
Okay, but who pays for Medicaid? The point remains that Jahi's family did not pay for their decision to keep the body of their daughter alive. According to the following article, intensive care in 2013 cost between $2,000 and $4,000 per day -- I don't know how much it costs now, but even taking the lowest $2,000-a-day-figure and multiplying it by 4 years and 210 days, that comes to $3,340,000.
Last edited by katharsis; 07-03-2018 at 03:10 PM..
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