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Employees Watch Mental Patient Die and Do Nothing

By Beth Janicek

A 49-year old psychiatric patient waits for over 24 hours to get treated at the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn , New York and dies in the waiting room. She was put in a chair, waiting for a bed to become available, when she fell to the floor. Patients were sitting in the same waiting room and did nothing to come to her aid. Amazingly, two security guards on two separate occasions looked in on her as she laid on the floor and also did nothing to help this woman in distress. A doctor, who has since been fired, walked into the waiting room, looked at this poor dying woman and did nothing. Finally a nurse came to her aid, kicked her and when she did not respond, help finally came, but by then it was too late. A hospital source said new patients are supposed to be checked every 30 minutes, this unfortunately did not help this unidentified woman - she was checked but left to die anyway.

Medical records state she was alive and well when they came to her aid. The video paints a different picture:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25472162#25472162

Too often medical records get altered but it can be difficult to prove unless there is an insider who tells or a video like this. Too often psychiatric patients do not get the healthcare they so desperately need. Our office is currently litigating a case with similar facts at the Bexar County Jail. A psychiatric patient was brought to the county jail, advised the jail personnel she suffered from seizures and was on medication. She was not given the medication she needed to prevent seizures until it was too late. She was found dead in her jail cell. Psychiatric patients like the elderly are frail human beings and do not deserve to die due to neglect. Terminating these individuals is a start but the institution itself needs to be investigated to determine how these employees ever could have thought their behavior was acceptable especially since it was not just one employee. The court system is the best way to investigate and determine all those who should be held responsible so that others will learn from their mistake. Institutions such as hospitals can't be prosecuted in a criminal court so that leaves the civil courts to try to investigate and hold those who should be accountable.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).