Legal Review: Case of Birth By Woman in Vegetative State Shines Light on Medical Malpractice

By Medical Malpractice Attorney John Fisher of John H. Fisher, P.C.

It was in early January of 2019 that a woman gave birth while in a vegetative state at Hacienda de Los Angeles.

She had been in a vegetative state for the past ten years. Immediately following the news, the CEO of Hacienda HealthCare resigned. Later in the same month police charged a staff member at the facility after a match was made between the baby’s DNA and his.

While the story happened months ago, it has kept people talking, and it is not difficult to understand why. It has greatly shined a light on just how easily medical malpractice can happen.

“Medical malpractice, in any form, is a traumatic and dramatic concept,” says John Fisher of John H. Fisher, P.C. “This is why most people think it could never happen to them. This case however, has really shown just how easily medical malpractice can occur, and how extreme it can be.”

After reports of the birth were released, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported that they had implemented additional safety measures for the facility. Those changes required more staff members to be present when anyone was interacting with a patient. Areas dedicated to patient care within the facility are also being more closely monitored.

While the safety measures are absolutely necessary, it is questionable why the Department of Health waited this long to implement them. The facility had many complaints filed against it, and those complaints dated back to 2013. Most of these were not as shocking as the birth, but involved fire drill and evacuation procedures, as well as Medicaid eligibility.

One complaint that could have been related to the most recent incident was one made in December of 2013. That complaint stated that a staff member had made comments that were sexual in nature to a patient. The complaint stated that incident occurred in October of 2013. Although that staff member was later fired, no one told the administrator at the time.

It is not currently known whether or not the woman’s family will file a civil lawsuit for medical malpractice against Hacienda Healthcare. It is known that if they do, this is not the first time the facility will face a lawsuit.

In 2011, the hospital settled a lawsuit out of court with a family member that claimed they lost someone while their loved one was in the clinic. That lawsuit made similar allegations against the hospital of poor quality of care and a lack of supervision for the staff members.