Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504050011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Not too many days ago, a single edition of this newspaper contained the following from the nation and the region: a 4-year-old dies after a tonsillectomy; directions for making nuclear weapons may soon become available on CD-ROM from a major publisher; a newspaper health columnist is killed by an overdose of cancer-fighting drugs while under a hospital's care; the CIA is accused of employing a Guatemalan known to have murdered a U.S. citizen; an 83-year-old is convicted of stabbing another man in a retirement home; a woman is convicted of neglecting her infant daughter who became comatose after her mother gave her liquor; a high school student is suspended for bringing a gun to school; three men are fined for shocking a mentally disabled co-worker with an electronic dog collar; two area restaurants are robbed.
Now, not to leave our critics on this point unanswered, the same edition included good news as well: the discovery of a promising new treatment for broken bones, the Roanoke Express winning a playoff game, and the opening of a play that may get a chance to be performed in New York.
Admittedly it wasn't evenly balanced, but it was something. And, as my dad used to say, what would the world be like if the good things that go on around us were so unusual that they were "news" every day?
We like - and need - to be reminded, however, that the human condition is not totally depraved. And sometimes, even in the most tragic stories, we may discover a glimpse of our more redeeming qualities.
Take the heart-rending story of Boston Globe columnist Betsy Lehman. Here was a medical writer who was being treated for breast cancer. During her chemotherapy, she was given four times the maximum safe dosage of one highly toxic drug and four times the amount of another drug that was supposed to reduce chemo's side effects. At least a dozen people, the story reported, overlooked the dosages. She died an agonizing death, literally throwing up the lining of her stomach. Another woman has been hospitalized with serious heart damage from similar treatment at the hospital.
It was an awful, terrifying story. But it also contained this quote from the hospital's physician-in-chief: "We accept full responsibility for these tragedies. Every doctor here is humbled by this. Every doctor feels the sense and the gravity of these tragedies." He went on to admit the mistakes were the result not of computer glitch or equipment malfunction, but of human error.
The more cynical among us might figure this is just a ploy to head off a gigantic damage award, and maybe that is a factor in the response. The hospital is negotiating a settlement. Or maybe we'd just conclude that any hospital that hired such inept people shouldn't be allowed to operate.
But reading that unexpected quote almost left me in shock.
How often do we hear of any corporate organization - hospital or otherwise - making such a bold assertion of accountibility?
I'd say almost never. "To err is human" may still be truth, but it is no longer an excuse - in many people's minds - for mistakes.
Managers are taught by their companies' lawyers never to acknowledge culpability. Such an admission can come back to haunt you in court, and that's where most of these cases end up. The usual technique seems to be to deny all responsibility and try to shift the blame to somebody else, preferably the victim.
We all know the unfortunate truth that there are people who attempt to soak rich companies and individuals with fraudulent injury claims. Those can be difficult to fight in court, and it's gotten so bad the House of Representatives passed legislation to limit awards in such cases. Even if the plaintiff doesn't collect a dime, the suits may cause incalculable damage to a firm's reputation and status.
But when an institution clearly bears responsibility, it ought to stand up and admit it.
Maybe that happens more than I think - settlements reached out of court with companies trying to do the right thing by compensating victims of accident or neglect.
I'm doubtful, though.
I think most of us would say our experience with individuals is just the opposite. How many of us know people who were speeding and got caught at it? There was a time when those folks would have owned up to it and paid the fine. Now, many are likely to fight the ticket even when they know they are guilty.
Another driving example: At one time it would have been unthinkable for most of us to accidentally hit a dog in the street and not stop to try to contact the owner. Now, that seems rare.
The list could go on.
This isn't a plea to return to some imaginary paradise of the 1950s, mind you, but a reminder that moral courage should never be out of vogue.
It seems to me that a hospital in Boston is setting the right example.
by CNB