Across the nation, hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices have come to rely on technology to improve the healthcare services provided. Unfortunately, the very technology responsible for advancing medical treatment may also be endangering patients.
Now that it is possible to hold advanced tech in the palm of one’s hand, some medical personnel are falling prey to device distraction.
There are at least two recent examples of doctor device distraction that actually occurred here in the United States.
- A Fox news report in 2017 mentioned one surgeon who used his phone to make calls, text and post to Facebook while performing surgery. The patient undergoing the procedure did not survive.
- In another case, a man was left with partial paralysis after undergoing a surgical procedure. The neurosurgeon in this case reportedly made a minimum of 10 personal phone calls during the surgery.
Doctors are not the only medical professionals who engage in unsafe behaviors that lead to distraction.
A study involving heart monitor technicians revealed that they often engage in electronic device use during surgical procedures. Half of these technicians admitted that they text during surgery, while more than half admitted to making personal calls during procedures.
Anytime medical workers in Tennessee or anywhere else injure vulnerable people by putting their own desires above the health and safety of patients, it is definitely medical malpractice. However, it may be challenging to prove such cases without testimony or evidence supporting the claim.
An experienced legal professional brings huge benefits to these cases. Experience litigating and negotiating medical malpractice cases is certainly beneficial, but the access injury attorneys have to expert medical witnesses can be especially advantageous.
Source: The FindLaw Accident, Injury and Tort Law Blog, “Distracted Doctors Linked to Medical Errors,” Andrew Chow, Esq., accessed March 01, 2018