Sexual Abuse, Suicide at Detroit Receiving Hospital Spotlights Patient Safety
A series of alarming events has brought public attention to questions of patient safety and staff shortages at Detroit Receiving Hospital. In just 73 days, two patients were sexually assaulted at the hospital, and another patient was allowed to take her life after being admitted following a suicide attempt.
A recent investigation by 7 News Detroit revealed significant understaffing and a lack of security at the prominent hospital. Shortages of nurses, nursing assistants, and other trained personnel have resulted in double-digit patient-to-staff ratios. Under these conditions, patients are increasingly vulnerable to predators, accidents, and other dangers.
Staff Shortages Endanger Patients
Detroit Receiving Hospital is Michigan’s first Level I Trauma Center. Its emergency department treats over 105,000 patients annually, while its adjacent clinics serve over 250,000 more. The 320-bed facility is one of the busiest in the country and treats the area’s most critically ill patients. The DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital Crisis Center responds to serious psychiatric emergencies and chronic mental illnesses.
Both recent sexual assaults took place in DRH’s Crisis Center and involved female psychiatric patients attacked while they were physically restrained and unsupervised. Both attackers were other unsupervised patients. Video surveillance captured the assaults, and allegedly show that staff did not notice or respond to either attack when they occurred.
Shortly after the assaults, another patient who had been admitted to the behavioral inpatient facility after a suicide attempt hung herself in her room. She was found by her roommate. Her death occurred four days after her admission to the facility. Her suicide may never had occurred had there been adequate staff.
The 7 News team interviewed employees who filed whistleblower reports months ago detailing chronic understaffing and its effects on patient safety throughout the DRH facilities. One former nurse alleges she was fired for raising safety concerns and has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination. In August, the state found that the hospital failed to meet regulatory requirements. However, little has been done to change the status quo.
Medical Duties of Care and Malpractice
Medical professionals and facilities, including hospitals, owe a duty of care to their patients. While they cannot prevent all adverse outcomes, they must provide their patients with skilled, competent, and appropriate medical care and take reasonable steps to ensure patient safety. This includes having enough medical providers on staff to properly supervise all patients, especially in behavioral and mental health units.
To cut costs and increase profits, some facilities make decisions that directly contribute to the likelihood of abuse, neglect, and medical malpractice occurring. Inadequate employee screening, lack of training, and poor supervision can create a dangerous patient environment.
Pursuing a Hospital Negligence Lawsuit
When doctors and hospitals fail to meet the standard of care, and you or a loved one suffer harm, a medical malpractice lawsuit can allow you to seek justice and compensation. The legal process is also a meaningful way to hold healthcare providers accountable. Patients can take steps to reclaim their rights and ensure better care for other community members.
In Michigan, medical malpractice lawsuits have specific procedural requirements and time limits. If you’ve been sexually assaulted or suffered injury due to hospital neglect or malpractice, consult experienced legal counsel.
If you or a loved one were sexually assaulted at Detroit Receiving Hospital, or believe you were harmed due to a lack of staffing and supervision, contact Sommers Schwartz attorney Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller today for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation. She can help you preserve your right to compensation. Ms. Esser-Weidenfeller has nearly two decades of experience in both medical malpractice, as well as sexual abuse litigation.
