Personal Injury Law

Negligence Lawsuit Against Hospital Seeks Damages for Hurricane Katrina Deaths

By guest-writer

Although more than five years have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, victims of allegedly negligent medical care are still seeking justice through a recent personal injury lawsuit.

This week, a trial will begin in a class action lawsuit filed against Memorial Hospital Center of New Orleans and its corporate parent, Tenet Healthcare, for personal injuries and death caused at the hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

According to sources, the lawsuit alleges that the hospital?s poorly designed electrical backup system, which was flooded after the hurricane, and flawed plans for evacuating patients led to an unreasonably high patient death rate.

After the hurricane struck New Orleans, the bodies of 45 patients were found at Memorial Hospital, which represented a number of fatalities that was far higher than those found at other area hospitals.

One factor that the plaintiffs claim led to these deaths was the hospital?s loss of power and subsequent absence of air-conditioning after the storm, which created temperatures as high as 100 degrees inside the hospital. This increase in heat was particularly dangerous for older patients.

The plaintiffs allege that the hospital?s emergency backup electrical system failed because the hospital had ignored recommendations to move the system above the ground floor, where it was susceptible to flooding.

Prior to the storm, the facility had considered installing pumps around the electrical system to remove water after a major hurricane, but determined that the work would be too costly, and did not perform the recommended maintenance.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs also allege that Tenet Healthcare effectively abandoned the facility and failed to provide the necessary logistical support for evacuating patients.

In its defense, Tenet Healthcare claims that it hired private helicopters to help evacuate patients, but officials at the hospital claim that the helicopters were sent at least 24 hours after the hospital had requested them.

Sources indicate that Tenet spent more than $1 million after the storm on buses, ambulances, and aircraft for the six different medical facilities it owns in the New Orleans region.

The plaintiffs are hoping for a particularly lucrative personal injury settlement, as Tenet Healthcare has very deep pockets. The company had a total operating revenue of more than $9 billion in 2010.

The lawsuit has also raised questions about the country?s failure to have adequate emergency response requirements for American hospitals. This trend, however, appears unlikely to change, as the President?s latest budget proposal will cut spending on emergency preparedness at hospitals by at least 10 percent.

Hospitals can be remarkably hectic places, even when the weather is behaving. If you or someone you know suffered an injury due to negligent treatment by a doctor or nurse, you may be able to file a personal injury claim.

Contact a local injury lawyer today to explain your situation and ask about your legal options.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on March 30, 2011 (boomark / email).