Case details

Doctor and nurse claimed patient was properly monitored

SUMMARY

$0

Amount

Verdict-Defendant

Result type

Not present

Ruling
KEYWORDS
anxiety, emotional distress, mental, psychological
FACTS
On March 22, 2008, plaintiff Fred Baugher, 48, a sound engineer who was wheelchair bound due cerebral palsy, was at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for treatment of back pain. He originally presented to the medical center on March 17, 2008, but he wasn’t scheduled for an MRI until five days later, when Dr. Feei-Wen Hsiao was acting as his attending physician and to Tammy Harris was the attending registered nurse on duty. Baugher claimed that when his scheduled MRI was delayed for a few hours on March 22, 2008, he received extra medication doses of Dilaudid (an opiate) and Ativan (a benzodiazepine), along with other prior doses of Valium (a benzodiazepine) and MS Contin (an opiate). At around 2 p.m., Baugher completed the MRI and fell asleep while Harris was giving him lunch. Harris then checked on Baugher a few times until 4:30 p.m., when she put Baugher on a nasal cannula because he was not responding to her attempts to awaken him. At 5 p.m., Harris and Hsiao were at Baugher’s bedside and gave him multiple doses of Narcan, an antidote for Dilaudid, but Baugher did not completely respond. He continued to breathe on his own, had normal vital signs and was continually monitored until 6:01 p.m., when the Code Blue team responded and intubated Baugher. Baugher sued Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Hsiao, Harris and Advanced Clinical Employment Staffing, LLC, which the employer that provided Harris to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center during a nurses’ strike. Harris was ultimately dismissed by the court prior to trial. Baugher contended that Hsiao and Harris failed to timely summon emergency care by calling 911 or call a Code Blue before 6:01 p.m. He also contended that they failed to support his airway, failed to insure he was properly breathing, and failed to properly monitor him. Baugher further contended that when Hsiao arrived, he only gave an antidote for Dilaudid, but not an antidote for Ativan. In addition, he contended that Harris and Hsiao administered the second dose of premedication for the MRI without obtaining his informed consent. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Harris and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center failed to properly document the drugs given to Baugher and failed to timely react to an emergency. Counsel also argued that Advanced Clinical Employment Staffing failed to properly train Harris and that Hsiao failed to obtain Baugher’s informed consent. Hsiao’s counsel contended that Hsiao appropriately monitored Baugher and appropriately administered the medications. Counsel also contended that when Baugher’s condition deteriorated, Hsiao immediately called the Code Blue team. Counsel for Advanced Clinical Employment Staffing contended that Harris fully met the standard of care and that Baugher’s treatment was reasonable and necessary., Baugher claimed that he had an intubation tube placed in his throat for 1.5 hours. He also claimed that he was given a catheter and a Bipap mask, and had to remain hospitalized for 25 days. Baugher alleged that his treatment at the medical center constituted medical battery, causing him to suffer from emotional distress, which includes nightmares and anxiety. Thus, he sought recovery of damages for his emotional distress as result of the alleged professional negligence and medical battery. Defense counsel argued that Baugher sustained no damages.
COURT
Superior Court of Alameda County, Oakland, CA

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