Last August, we blogged about a doctor at Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) who had a fourth medical malpractice lawsuit filed against him. This doctor and CRMC were recently in the news again, as part of a 30 Action News/ABC30 News story centered on another of the doctor’s alleged victims.
Our post from August 2014 gives additional insight into the cases against this doctor and addresses basic questions such as:
- What is medical malpractice?
- Why would the Medical Board of California get involved?
- Why did the family file a malpractice suit?
The family of this alleged victim filed a lawsuit in 2012 and claimed that the doctor left the hospital to attend a luncheon – while the victim’s chest was still open. The 72-year-old patient ended up in a vegetative state. They only found out about any potential wrongdoing thanks to an anonymous phone call from one of the nurses who had been in the operating room during the surgery.
Today, the family alleges that CRMC is covering up medical malpractice, and protecting the doctor due to the amount of money that his practice brings to the hospital.