11 California Hospitals Fined for Medical Mistakes

Eleven hospitals in California have each been slapped with $25,000 fines and other penalties for medical mistakes and violations of state guidelines that resulted in patient deaths and injuries.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the hospitals are located throughout the state, but most (8 of the 11) are in Southern California. Most of the medical mistakes occurred in 2008. The fines and other administrative penalties were announced today by the state Department of Public Health.

Medical mistakes and medical malpractice like those which led to the fines announced today are increasingly common in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. Physicians, nurses, and other staffers stretched thin with bulging patient loads and subjected to lax training and supervision are more prone to make mistakes that can cost patients their lives or result in devastating injuries.

Variety of Mistakes Cited

The hospitals were cited for a variety of infractions which caused patient deaths and serious injuries. Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital in Norwalk and L.A. County-USC Hospital were fined for failing to follow proper surgical procedures, mistakes that required patients to undergo second surgeries to remove surgical clamps, sponges, and other surgical equipment left behind, the Times reported.

Saint John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica was fined for not following its own surgical procedures in December 2008 after a patient suffered facial burns after a fire caused by overheated cauterizing equipment during eyelid surgery, according to the Times.

The following hospitals were penalized today for medical mistakes:

• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley, Alameda County

• Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital, Norwalk, Los Angeles County

• Kindred Hospital, Ontario, San Bernardino County

• Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, San Bernardino County

• Los Angeles County/University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

• Mendocino Coast District Hospital, Fort Bragg, Mendocino County

• Redwood Memorial Hospital, Fortuna, Humboldt County

• Saint John’s Hospital and Health Center, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County

• Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista, San Diego County

• Tri-City Hospital District, Oceanside, San Diego County

• USC University Hospital, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

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