LA Hospital Negligent In Homeless ER Death

Report Claims Woman "Could Have Been Saved"; Proposes $250K Settlement From $45M Lawsuit

(AP)  A homeless woman who died after writhing in pain on a hospital floor for nearly an hour could have survived if she had received proper treatment, a county report concedes.

The report, obtained by the Los Angeles Times when it was briefly and inadvertently made public in a court filing, said 43-year-old Edith Rodriguez "could have been saved, at least in the early part of her detention" at the troubled Martin Luther King-Harbor Hospital in May 2007. The report was prepared by an outside firm hired by Los Angeles County to look into its liability.

"This is a case of medical negligence as to the medical treatment provided by medical staff at the facility," the report said.

It concludes that the county should attempt to settle a $45 million lawsuit filed by the woman's adult children for $250,000, the same amount recently offered by county supervisors to Rodriguez's boyfriend in a separate lawsuit.

County prosecutors investigating the death earlier this year decided that the medical staff misdiagnosed Rodriguez and failed to treat her properly but were not criminally negligent. No charges were filed. "Prompt intervention would not have saved her life," prosecutors said in their report.

Rodriguez, who died of a perforated bowel, had been seen at the hospital at least six times in the month before her death and had spent 14 hours there a day earlier. The day she died she was brought inside by police officers who had found her yelling for help outside. She could be seen on security cameras lying on the floor as a janitor mopped around her and a nursed dismissed her problems.

Attorney David J. Weiss, who represents the county, declined comment when reached by the Times.

Rodriguez's death and several other instances of allegedly shoddy care cost the hospital $200 million in federal funding in 2007, and it was closed to all but outpatient care.

[doc18d]

impeach___w,
I don''t believe I said anything about letting people die.
I simply gave an insight as to possibly why these things can happen. It is unfortunate, but the staff of these er''s are already overworked, and it is not hard to say "oh it''s just so and so, They''ve been in 9 times already this month. They can wait.
It is a shame that you are so quick to judge, It must be nice knowing you are the perfect human who would never make a wrong decision under similar circumstances. I''m sure you would rather see the family who allowed their mother to be homeless get the big money.

[fush2]

this woman was homeless??? how is that possible when you have the kids and the boyfriend trying to file for lawsuits??? just a quick way to get money

[notfooled]

Some of the posts here reflect the same kind of indifference for sick folks as the hospitals who''s only agenda is to make profit on the misery of others.

[impeach___w]

Yeah doc18d, she should have just used an ambulance for each trip. Letting them die and settling is much cheaper. What if she was a vet? Would you think the same?

[deepperppl]

the report was inadvertently made public, then, ooops. gotta make it private. what''s the use if reporters like these decide it is more important to get a story out than it is to follow a court order?

[doc18d]

They offered $250,000 to a homeless womans undoubtedly homeless boyfriend, Only in Californication could this happen.
Unfortunately having spent some time in Er''s, Homeless people often use the er on a daily or weekly basis. The staff is so used to seeing the same ones over and over, they become complacent when these individuals come back in. Unfortunately crying wolf to many times does cause this. Should the hospital be required to run costly tests everytime a homeless person shows back up with the same or some new symptoms? Many use the er for a place to get out of the elements for a while. Lets not forget the mental status of so many of these homeless people. The system may not be right in how we deal with this problem, but unrestricted access to an er is not the answer.

[mollydtt]

This was a sad, needless death, but once this county pays out the millions, and possibly closes yet another hospital, care will be even more hard to come by.

Hospitals have cut costs as much as they can, and now they don''t have many options other than shutting down entirely.

Good luck finding emergency medical care. And when you do, be prepared to wait even longer.

[bks59]

Her boyfriend was/is entitled to money from a settlement, a man and woman can be married where legal protections exist, as a boyfriend he has NO legal rights as next of kin and should not be eligible for any settlement money, this is the issue about marriage and spousal benfits/relationship.

[slim1h2o]

Until this country establishes separate facilities only for the indigent, this will become commonplace. There is no excuse for an individual who is either insured or has the ability to pay for medical services, to have to wait for treatment while a bunch of parasites are seeking free care."

Posted by drivelphobe at 12:40 PM : Dec 04, 2008


Your compassion underwhelms me.......

[slim1h2o]

Homeless or not, this woman deserved to die with some dignity. And not on the floor where most people go to get help.

There''s no excuse, not here, and not in this day and age..