Patient Dies After Scuffle/Restraint For Not Signing Out. Ruled A Homicide

Whenever I had a patient leave AMA... (against medical advise)... I would wave goodbye... even if they refuse to sign the form, you just need to document that they refused... and whatever happens to them from then on out is their problem, hospitals are not prisons... You can't make a grown person do what you want.. even if it's in their best interest.... let them go... If they are really sick... they will be back.. and a lot more compliant.
 
QuickSilver said:
Whenever I had a patient leave AMA... (against medical advise)... I would wave goodbye... even if they refuse to sign the form, you just need to document that they refused... and whatever happens to them from then on out is their problem, hospitals are not prisons... You can't make a grown person do what you want.. even if it's in their best interest.... let them go... If they are really sick... they will be back.. and a lot more compliant.
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Years ago when I had back surgery they wanted me to stay a couple more days, I felt fine, no meds were prescribed so I left ama.
 

I love how many employees think a person must sign a document like it's THE law. No, it's policy. Most policy is there for a reason but it is not the law. But physically forcing someone to comply to company policy is ridiculous. Throw in the employee who begs the customer with a sob story how they'll get fired if you don't do this is annoying but forcing someone to do so is beyond me.

Policy & the law are different things and people should be taught that.

I hope these guards get charged with negligent homicide. And prosecuted for civil rights violations along with the hospital being civilly sued.

And as qs noted, just put 'refused', 1/2 of those 'refused' won't even be noticed by paper pushers because the blank is filled in.
 
QuickSilver said:
Yeah... it's kinda hard to leave AMA at that point..
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I've managed.

When they're running endless tests on you and hemming and hawing and stroking their chin whiskers, but nothing is actually being cured, what's the point?

When the PA in the doctor's office tells you to lose 10 pounds and she herself weighs over 300, c'mon, what's the point?

You tell them your right foot has lost circulation so they look down your throat? No, I'm sorry ...
 
They went across the street to bring him back?! Insane.

There was a case here in the 90s where over-zealous security guards tackled an older man at a store and paralyzed him. IIRC he got about $15M and a huge penalty was issued to the store. (Today I think the award would have been much larger.)
 
This is a sad situation. If the man had left and became injured, then the family would have blamed the hospital for that. There was a big article in a major California newspaper about nursing homes. A patient who signed themselves out of a nursing home committed suicide. Who's the family blaming? One guess.
 
"Policy & the law are different things and people should be taught that."


Good luck achieving that! imp
 
I've been told that discharging yourself AMA might cause your insurance company to refuse to pay for your stay.....at least that what we were told when the SE's mother wanted to check herself out of the hospital last year.

A nurse friend of mine has been involved in a medical malpractice suit for over three years now concerning a woman who checked herself out of the hospital AMA and then turned around and sued everybody down to the janitor because she had a heart attack shortly afterward.

My granddaughter used to volunteer at a local hospital for her scholarship service requirements and she was working one Christmas Eve until late in the evening. They had several "absconders" who just up and walked out of the hospital, not even checking themselves out. Apparently this is a common event at Christmas. The patient would call up a family member or friend and say "I'm leaving, come pick me up" and off they'd go. The staff would notice after a while that the person was gone and then they'd have to start calling around to find out where they were. She said that the police found one old guy wandering down the road, wearing one shoe, jeans, a hospital gown and trailing a drainage tube behind him. Apparently, he decided he was going to spend Christmas Eve at his favorite bar several miles away and couldn't get anyone to come get him so he just hoofed it. They loaded him up and brought him back. He was not a happy camper....er...patient.
 
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