Texting While … Operating?
You may have heard of Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone Pledge,” which is aimed at getting drivers to make their car a “No Phone Zone,” and stop talking and texting while driving. Many drivers in the Fort Lauderdale area may have even participated, as the pledge came to the national forefront during the time that a texting bill was up for passage in Florida. It appears that some doctors and nurses need to take this same pledge in the operating room, too. A recent New York Times article discussed recent research that shows that the smart phone and digital revolution may put patients at risk of personal injury as medical staff becomes increasingly connected to their mobile devices. A medical journal on anesthesiology published a study on what they termed as “medical distraction” by doctors and nurses, leaving injured patients, or in worse cases, surviving family members, to seek the services of a personal injury attorney.
The frightening Times article reports that as hospitals increasingly use technology to keep electronic medical records and allow doctors access to patient records and prescription information, physicians may be tempted to check their Facebook status, send text messages, or even do a little online shopping. While Fort Lauderdale residents are currently not banned from using handheld devices while driving, several “hands free” bills have been filed that might change that in the near future. All six of the current bills filed for the 2012 legislative session focus on what has been dubbed ”distracted driving,” but so far, there is no legislation covering “distracted doctoring” or “distracted nursing.”
As research emerges in this area, it is unclear how many patients have actually suffered personal injury as a result of electronic distraction by physicians and surgeons. However, the evidence clearly points to the fact that many families may find themselves struggling to compete against the likes of email, Twitter, and Amazon for their physician’s attention. The New York Times article goes on to note that a patient in Denver sought the representation of a personal injury attorney after being left partially paralyzed due to his doctor talking on his cellphone during surgery. The attorney stated that the patient was offered a settlement for his personal injury after phone records revealed that the surgeon was making numerous calls to family members and business associates while performing the procedure.
An anesthesiologist interviewed in the story reported seeing colleagues misuse technology by checking email and shopping on eBay while in the operating room. The article referenced a study in a medical journal called Perfusion, which found that this may be a problem infecting the medical community at large. The study showed that 55% of the 439 cardiac technicians surveyed also admitted to talking on their cellphones during surgery, while 50% admitted to texting during surgery. Such risky behavior by medical professionals may leave residents of Fort Lauderdale and the rest of the country asking their state senators to pass legislation to ban texting in the operating room. If such legislation is not created, injured patients may find themselves hiring a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney to put a stop to such medical neglect.
Lawlor, Winston, White & Murphey are seasoned personal injury attorney in Fort Lauderdale with a winning record of guiding victims through every detail of an accident case and ensuring fair and reasonable treatment by all responsible parties. The Lawlor, Winston, White & Murphey team has tried more than 100 jury trials and obtained verdicts, judgments and settlements in excess of $100 million for their clients. Please visit our website at http://www.lawlorwinston.com/ or call our offices at 954.525.2345 to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case. If you’re concerned that you can’t afford the services of a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney, rest assured that we work on a contingency basis—you don’t pay us until you receive the compensation from the insurance companies.
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