A trial, involving a class-action lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare and Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans, will determine whether the healthcare organizations are responsible for patient deaths and injuries that took place after Hurricane Katrina, according to a New York Times news report.
The lawsuit was filed by individuals who were at the hospital during the hurricane and allege the hospital's inadequate backup electrical system, patient care and evacuation attempts resulted in injury and death. The lawsuit also accused the hospital of not meeting required emergency preparedness protocol, according to the news report.
The most pressing issue during the trial will be whether Memorial executives realized the danger of flooding at the facility, despite previous warnings to the hospital that its electrical system should be moved above the ground floor. It is yet to be determined whether the hospital's backup power failed due to maintenance, design or other failures, but the backup system, which is supposed to provide emergency power for three days, shut down in less than two. Temperatures skyrocketed at the hospital, posing serious health threats, especially for older patients, plaintiffs in the lawsuit said.
Tenet will also likely be questioned on why it did not hire private helicopters for emergency airlifts at Memorial after the transportation was requested by the hospital's communications manager. Tenet said it only hires private helicopters one day after an emergency disaster and a federal agency and the National Guard were already at work for hospital evacuations, according to the news report.
Memorial and Tenet have denied all allegations in connection to the class-action lawsuit. Tenet has since sold Memorial and other Louisiana hospitals, according to the news report.
Read the news report about the class-action lawsuit against Tenet and Memorial Medical Center.
Read other coverage about hospital lawsuits:
- 10 Recent Nursing Strikes, Lawsuits and Unionizations at U.S. Hospitals
- Former Employee Accuses Warren Hospital of Undue Firing, Ignoring Errors in Patient Records
- DEA, FDA Investigate St. Cloud Hospital Nurse Suspected of Causing Infection in 23 Patients
The lawsuit was filed by individuals who were at the hospital during the hurricane and allege the hospital's inadequate backup electrical system, patient care and evacuation attempts resulted in injury and death. The lawsuit also accused the hospital of not meeting required emergency preparedness protocol, according to the news report.
The most pressing issue during the trial will be whether Memorial executives realized the danger of flooding at the facility, despite previous warnings to the hospital that its electrical system should be moved above the ground floor. It is yet to be determined whether the hospital's backup power failed due to maintenance, design or other failures, but the backup system, which is supposed to provide emergency power for three days, shut down in less than two. Temperatures skyrocketed at the hospital, posing serious health threats, especially for older patients, plaintiffs in the lawsuit said.
Tenet will also likely be questioned on why it did not hire private helicopters for emergency airlifts at Memorial after the transportation was requested by the hospital's communications manager. Tenet said it only hires private helicopters one day after an emergency disaster and a federal agency and the National Guard were already at work for hospital evacuations, according to the news report.
Memorial and Tenet have denied all allegations in connection to the class-action lawsuit. Tenet has since sold Memorial and other Louisiana hospitals, according to the news report.
Read the news report about the class-action lawsuit against Tenet and Memorial Medical Center.
Read other coverage about hospital lawsuits:
- 10 Recent Nursing Strikes, Lawsuits and Unionizations at U.S. Hospitals
- Former Employee Accuses Warren Hospital of Undue Firing, Ignoring Errors in Patient Records
- DEA, FDA Investigate St. Cloud Hospital Nurse Suspected of Causing Infection in 23 Patients