3-2final

.docx

School

Purdue University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

PA230

Subject

Medicine

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

5

Uploaded by ericaharmon33

Erica Harmon Sem Ganthier Ethic and Legal Considerations SNHU (Southern New Hampshire University) 1/26/2024 Allina Health System and Emergency Physicians Professional Association, with whom they have a contract, are being sued by appellants Alla K. Popovich, in her capacity as Alexander M.
Popovich's guardian ad litem, and as the wife, in the Minnesota Supreme Court's Court of Appeals. Mrs. Popovich claims that incompetent medical attention in the emergency departments of two Allina Health facilities caused her husband Aleksandr to have a stroke. Aleksandr Popovich, 38, sought medical attention in Unity Hospital's emergency room early on February 9, 2016, marking the beginning of his case. He complained of breathing difficulties, dizziness, loss of balance, and impaired vision when he arrived. The attending physician requested a computed tomography (CT) scan of his skull, which was examined by a radiologist under contract. He was released home just before 7 am, having just been there for two hours. Aleksandr stopped responding later that morning after experiencing further breathing difficulties.At 11:16 a.m., he arrived by ambulance at Mercy Hospital's emergency department. The on-call physician there requested a second CT scan. After reviewing and comparing the scan to the initial one, anomalies and increasing edema since the initial scan were found for Unity Hospital. His transport to Abbott Northwestern Hospital followed by further tests resulted in his immediate diagnosis of having suffered a stroke upon arrival at 5:37 p.m. He needed to spend several weeks in the hospital and a month in inpatient rehab due to severe, irreparable brain injury. He still requires lifetime rehabilitation and care due to his significant speech and cognitive deficits, inability to walk without help, and limited use of his right arm and leg. Mr. Popovich would not have suffered such severe damage, according to the lawsuit, if the radiologists and emergency department physicians at Allina Health's two hospitals had identified the stroke signs sooner. Mr. Popovich was not given proper treatment by Unity Hospital after his initial CT scan and was instead sent home, indicating that the hospital did not exercise reasonable diligence in identifying and treating him. Thus, it appears that a case of carelessness is at hand. Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(e), which prohibits a lawsuit against a hospital based on the carelessness of independent
contractors, is the legal defense used by Allina Health Systems in this case. Whether hospitals should be shielded from responsibility for caregiving errors and malpractice committed by independent contractors is a matter of legal dispute. According to the case's precedent, a company or individual may be held vicariously accountable under the theory of apparent authority if they "knowingly" allow the agent—in this case, the emergency room doctors—to act on their behalf and the agent commits negligence. The physician at Unity Hospital sent Mr. Popovich home without ordering any more tests or providing any type of treatment, which constituted negligence, or failing to carry out professional obligations in accordance with an established standard of care, such as what a "reasonable person" would do (Fremgen, 2020). Mr. Popovich did not get any care, as far as the case documents show, until he was taken to Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where it was eventually determined that he had had a stroke. When the doctors of the Allina Health System neglected to properly evaluate or monitor Mr. Popovich's health upon his arrival at their hospitals, it was considered malpractice, which is defined as misbehavior or the exhibition of an unjustifiable lack of expertise (Fremgen, 2020). Given that Mr. Popovich was discharged from Unity Hospital without receiving treatment for his complaints, the standard of care was not fulfilled in terms of diagnosing him or ordering additional testing. As a result, he had to be taken by ambulance to a second Allina Health hospital, where he underwent further tests but received no real treatment before being sent to a third facility. As soon as they arrived, this third hospital diagnosed patients and started treating them, demonstrating the incapacity of the radiologists and emergency department physicians at Allina Health facilities and, thus, the violation of the protocol. The term "standard of care" describes the level of expertise and care that is equivalent to that of other specialists in the same sector (Fremgen, 2020). The standard of care was not followed at Unity by not running extra
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help