In a disturbing case of hospital malpractice, California’s Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center has been fined $25,000 by the state after a patient died from a blood transfusion error.
In October 2008, a patient was given a blood transfusion that was later found by a Department of Public Health investigation to be unnecessary. In addition to the patient not needing the transfusion, the blood type was also incorrect.
It took 15 minutes for the hospital staff to realize the mistake and by then it was too late. The patient died as a result of the error.
The medical center has released a statement that they “deeply regret the incident”. The two nurses that were involved in the medical error have since resigned.
There is no word yet as to whether the family of the patient plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Source: www.nytimes.com
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