The shocking case of a Portland doctor who, according to The Oregonian, faces “manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges in connection with two after-hours tummy-tuck operations she gave to employees in 2010” is a reminder that all of us need to keep Oregon patient safety in our thoughts when considering medical procedures.
According to the newspaper the doctor, whose medical license has now been suspended, allegedly performed solo surgery on two of her employees in a back room at her office after the day’s work was done. One of the two employees subsequently died from complications stemming from the tummy-tuck while the other “complained of dizziness and a rapid heartbeat afterward.”
All of us place great faith in doctors and we have the right to expect, in return, that our doctors will perform their duties in a manner that keeps patients’ well-being first and foremost in their minds. Of course, this is exactly what the vast majority of doctors do every day.
A Portland patient safety attorney can help families cope with the aftermath of the – thankfully-rare – instances when doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals do not show appropriate concern for their patients’ safety. In this particular instance, we have to ask how the alleged unsafe conduct was able to happen, granted that, according to The Oregonian, the state’s medical board found that the doctor in question had acted in this manner on other occasions. It was not just off-the-books surgery that was allegedly involved. “The board found that she prescribed medications to employees and their family members without maintaining accurate charts on the prescriptions and refills for the patients.”
Incidents like this are troubling, however rare they may be. It is comforting to know that medical boards and our legal system are here to protect patients when the system breaks down.
The Oregonian: Portland doctor charged in 2010 after-hours cosmetic surgery death of employee