Hall vs. Hilbun Essays - 734 Words

Module 06 Written Assignment Hall Vs. Hilbun Eliza B. Gray Rasmussen College Authors Note: This paper is being submitted on the 18th of March 2013 for the winter semester of Medical Law and Ethics section 05. Hall Vs. Hilbun The case of Hall versus Hilbun is a case in which an exploratory surgery was conducted to try to locate a possible blockage in the small bowel to alleviate abdominal pain. Mrs. Hall went into the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, upon being seen by doctors she was treated by a general surgeon by the name of Dr. Hilbun who stated he thought the pain was due to a blockage in the small bowel and thought an exploratory surgery was deemed appropriate for treatment. Mrs Hall consented to the surgery and at†¦show more content†¦Hilbun alleging that he failed to give attending nursing staff proper care instructions for Mrs. Hall nor had he provided her case with proper post-surgery follow up. Mr. Hall and her lawyers were able to find an expert witness by the name of Dr. Hoerr to provide testimony proving the alleged malpractice. During the trial Dr. Hoerr’s testimony was thrown out and deemed inaccurate due to the fact that he was not familiar with the local standard o f care a patient would receive from a different doctor in the general area. This case is extremely relevant to what is known as the four D’s of negligence; duty, dereliction, direct cause and damages. Duty is when a doctor and a patient have formed a relationship and said doctor has taken on the responsibility of taking care of the patient. Dereliction or failure to perform a duty, there must be some kind of proof that the doctor somehow neglected the doctor neglected the patient. Direct cause, there must be some kind of proof that what happened to the patient was a direct cause of how the doctor conducted himself or his failure to act which resulted in injury. Damages a patient must prove that harm was incurred by the direct result of the physicians actions. Upon reviewing the four D’s I think that it is clear that Mrs. Halls death was not a direct result of Dr. Hilbuns actions or lack of action. While the surgery did result in a sponge being left in Mrs. Hall’s abdomen that sponge did not directly result in