First appeared in NewsBreak
By Aron Solomon
The recent news of a Pennsylvania fertility doctor mistakenly injecting a patient with acid during a procedure will go viral on social media because of the breadth and depth of this medical malpractice.
As the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported, the incident occurred when the doctor mistakenly injected trichloroacetic acid, at an 85% concentration, into a woman’s reproductive organs. The woman suffered severe injuries and burns as a result of the injection.
This incident raises several critically important legal issues:
Medical Malpractice
The first legal issue that arises from this incident is medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional fails to provide the appropriate standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. In this case, the fertility doctor failed to provide the appropriate standard of care by mistakenly injecting the patient with acid. The patient suffered severe injuries and burns as a result of the injection.
As Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer Richard DiTomaso points out, “Given the facts we have, there is a strong legal argument that the doctor’s actions were a clear deviation from the standard of care, and the patient has the right to seek compensation for the harm caused.”
Negligence
Another legal issue that arises from this incident is negligence. Negligence occurs when a healthcare professional fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to the patient. In this case, the fertility doctor was negligent by mistakenly injecting the patient with acid. The patient suffered severe injuries and burns as a result of the injection. The doctor’s actions were an apparent deviation from the standard of care, and the patient has the right to seek compensation for the harm caused.
Board of Medicine
The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine is responsible for regulating the practice of medicine in the state. The board is responsible for investigating complaints against physicians and taking disciplinary action when necessary. In this case, the board will likely examine the fertility doctor’s actions and determine whether disciplinary action is needed. The board may also take action to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.
Criminal Charges and Civil Liability
This is the most interesting legal dimension of this case because it is not the norm for medical malpractice to include a criminal law element.
Only in some cases does medical malpractice rise to the level of criminal conduct. Where it does, criminal charges may be brought against a healthcare professional who intentionally or recklessly causes harm to a patient.
In this case, it is unclear whether the fertility doctor’s actions rise to the level of criminal conduct. However, if it is determined that the doctor acted recklessly or intentionally, criminal charges may be brought against him.
At an absolute minimum, the doctor’s actions are going to result in a very significant civil lawsuit. In Pennsylvania, there are no limits on economic or noneconomic damages, but punitive damages are capped. However, it’s worth noting that punitive damages are seldom awarded in medical malpractice cases.
Worth noting here is that the statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims in Pennsylvania is generally two years from the date when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered but no more than seven years from the date of the alleged medical malpractice.
About Aron Solomon
A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the Chief Legal Analyst for Esquire Digital and the Editor-in-Chief for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world. Aron has been featured in Forbes, CBS News, CNBC, USA Today, ESPN, TechCrunch, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Fortune, Venture Beat, The Independent, Fortune China, Yahoo!, ABA Journal, Law.com, The Boston Globe, YouTube, NewsBreak, and many other leading publications.
A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the Chief Strategy Officer for AMPLIFY. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world. Aron has been featured in Newsweek, The Hill, Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, CBS News, CNBC, USA Today, ESPN, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, Venture Beat, The Independent, Fortune China, Abogados, Today’s Esquire, Yahoo!, ABA Journal, Law.com, The Boston Globe, and many other leading publications across the globe.
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