Guest Column: Thyroidectomy mistake brings $4.7M settlement
Thyroidectomy mistake brings $4.7M settlement
By Radha V. Bachman, Esq.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Tampa, FL
and Ellen Barton, JD, CPCU
Phoenix, MD
In a recent case that led to a $4.7 million settlement, a 50-year-old woman's calcium level fell from 9.4 mg/dL to 7.3 mg/dL following an elective thyroidectomy for removal of an enlarged thyroid.1 The woman eventually was diagnosed with hypocalcemia.
Hypocalcemia is known to be the most common complication after total removal of the thyroid. As many as 6% of patients having a total thyroidectomy suffer this complication. Hypocalcemia is the presence of low serum calcium levels in the blood, typically less than 2.1 mmol/L or 9 mg/dL or an ionized calcium level of less than 1.1 mmol/L (4.5 mg/dL) and is an electrolyte disturbance. The common symptoms for hypocalcemia are neuromuscular irritability, muscle cramps, numbness, irritability, and confusion.
Calcium was ordered for the woman but never administered, despite the fact that the calcium was taped to her hospital bed. As the evening progressed, the woman became increasingly nervous and agitated and also had difficulty swallowing. A second-year resident, who had only been at the hospital for a total of three weeks, visited the patient, but did not administer the calcium – despite the fact that the calcium was provided in the patient's room.
The next morning the woman awoke groggy and complained of shortness of breath and increased swelling where the operation had taken place. The resident was called again for a consult. At the time of the consult, the woman went into respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. A code was called, and the woman was intubated. While her breathing was restored, the woman sustained anoxic encephalopathy and became comatose. The woman never recovered from the coma, and she now requires around-the-clock nursing care for her vegetative state.
The woman's guardian filed suit against the ENT physician who performed the thyroidectomy and the operator of the hospital.1 The guardian introduced head and neck surgery and neurology experts. The plaintiff alleged that the resident had failed to respond in a timely manner to the woman's shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, and the plaintiff claimed that those symptoms were caused by the hypocalcemia, which, if low enough, could have caused the woman's breathing to be substantially reduced. Or, the plaintiff suggested, it could have been caused by a surgical-site hematoma, which could have compromised the woman's breathing passage. Despite records to the contrary, the resident claimed he responded quickly and was at the woman's bedside 11 minutes prior to the time the code was called.
The plaintiff also claimed that the administration of the calcium to the woman would have avoided the subsequent injury. The resident responded and claimed that he had properly opened the surgical site and removed clotted blood that was potentially compromising the woman's airway or lymphatic system. The defendant claimed that the woman's calcium level, at 7.3, has never been shown to cause cardiac arrest or difficulty breathing and, therefore, was not the cause of the woman's subsequent injury.
The physician who performed the thyroidectomy was removed as a defendant from the lawsuit. Ultimately, the plaintiff reached a settlement with the hospital in this case for $4.7 million.
What this means to you
Based on the facts presented here, clearly this case was one to settle. While the hospital attempted to articulate certain defenses, they were almost embarrassingly weak.
The medical literature recognizes that hypocalcemia is a well-known complication after total removal of the thyroid. However, regardless of the cause (which the hospital attempted to raise as a defense), in this case the hypocalcemia was diagnosed and appropriate treatment (calcium) was ordered. Unfortunately, it was never administered. Cardiac arrest also is clearly recognized in the medical literature as a life-threatening complication of untreated hypocalcemia. The patient went into cardiac arrest in this case, which resulted in catastrophic injuries.
The care (or more appropriately, the lack of care) provided to this patient is very troubling. After recognizing the complication, appropriate treatment was ordered but never carried out. The facts contain no explanation as to why the calcium was not given. Even more disturbing is the fact that the calcium had actually been "taped to the woman's hospital bed." There is no acceptable reason (or defense) for not administering the medication, and "taping" it to the bed only adds insult to injury.
The actions and inactions of the resident physician aggravate an untenable position. Unfortunately, the facts do not fully detail why the resident visited the patient the evening before she suffered a cardiac arrest. Was the resident called by nursing staff because the patient was exhibiting certain symptoms? Did the resident notice that the calcium was taped to the bed? What did he do, if anything? The resident's acts of omissions – in not administering the calcium and/or further treating the patient – are disturbing. Also, the resident's claims of being present prior to the patient's cardiac arrest the next day do very little to support a defense. If, in fact, the resident was present at the patient's bedside at the time of the patient's cardiac arrest, why were life-saving measures not taken sooner?
It is a nurse's responsibility to administer medications ordered by a physician. Why was the calcium not administered? The facts do not reveal the time lapse between the recognition of the hypocalcemia and the ordering of the calcium; however, it would appear that this was timely. What did the documentation indicate? Or, was the hospital dealing with a lack of documentation? Regardless of the answers, there are several lessons from a risk management perspective.
Reference
- Westchester County (NY) Supreme Court, Case No. 11285/05.
Case offers lessons for risk management By Radha V. Bachman, Esq. The case of an elective thyroidectomy, followed by the patient developing hypocalcemia but never given calcium1, provides several risk management lessons:
This case proves again what has been demonstrated by research: A significant number of claims involve "system" errors, such as medication-related errors, communications errors, and documentation errors. It appears clear from the facts that the implementation and monitoring of good "systems" through consistent audits could have prevented the plaintiff's devastating injuries in this case. Reference
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