CNN Video: Pharmacist Jailed in Tot's Death

[Slick5150]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2010/02/15/mattingly.oh.pharmacist.jailed.cnn?hpt=C2

Curious what other's reactions are to this. Frankly, I think this guy (as the video points out at one point) was the "easy target" for people always looking to hold people responsible when accidents happen, even though the problem is often systemic rather than with an individual, as this case seems to be.

Sure, he probably should have caught the mistake one of his pharmacy technicians made (he did not fill the prescription himself, but as the supervising pharmacist is supposed to double check things before they are given out), but as it's pointed out hospital pharmacies are so understaffed and overwhelmed it's inevitable that mistakes are going to eventually happen.

Further, passing laws like they did is just another way for a politician to make it seem like they solved a problem rather than addressing the underlying problems with the medical care industry. You can't pass laws to outlaw mistakes, but you can pass laws that create a system in which mistakes are far less likely to happen.

In any case, I feel bad for the guy, as at least based on what that video showed he's being used as a scapegoat. I'm obviously sorry for the family of the little girl as well, but imprisoning him for 6 months does nothing to help her or prevent this from happening again in the future.

 

[SandEagle]

why do we still have pharm techs? drug dispensing should be an automated process run by computers that can do no wrong

 

[sandorski]

Wow. Seems like Jail has become a fix all these days. If there were a Perfect system, perhaps Jail is the only way to improve things, but there is no such thing.

 

[Vette73]

Sorry but a mistake that causes another to lose their life should result in punishment. Just to say OPPS would be an insult.
That and the over worked is BS. Safety should never take a backseat to anything.

 

[Jaskalas]

If I understand the OP's comments, then it is a crime against humanity to jail this person. This most certainly falls under cruel and unusual punishment as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Slick5150]

Sorry but a mistake that causes another to lose their life should result in punishment. Just to say OPPS would be an insult.

Reprimand him? Fire him?

That and the over worked is BS. Safety should never take a backseat to anything.

Yeah, cause when all the prescriptions are backed up, I'm sure the guy's boss would be a-ok with him just saying "I'm sorry, but safety will not take a backseat on my watch". The point is the system seems to exist in which you HAVE to choose one or the other (safety or speed), and when you're being told to get it done faster, safety will be sacrificied. So, you either just blame the incident on the person and wait for it to eventually happen again, or you fix the system so that you don't have to sacrifice one for the other.

 

[Jaskalas]

Sorry but a mistake that causes another to lose their life should result in punishment. Just to say OPPS would be an insult.
That and the over worked is BS. Safety should never take a backseat to anything.

Punishment would be firing him from his job.

 

[sandorski]

Reprimand him? Fire him?


Yeah, cause when all the prescriptions are backed up, I'm sure the guy's boss would be a-ok with him just saying "I'm sorry, but safety will not take a backseat on my watch". The point is the system seems to exist in which you HAVE to choose one or the other (safety or speed), and when you're being told to get it done faster, safety will be sacrificied. So, you either just blame the incident on the person and wait for it to eventually happen again, or you fix the system so that you don't have to sacrifice one for the other.

This situation is especially troubling when more and more people are being asked to take on ever increasing amounts of Responsibility with decreasing Wages all in the name of Cost Cutting. So now sending overworked people to Jail when they make a mistake is a good solution? WTF?

 

[sandorski]

Punishment would be firing him from his job.

That is a far more reasonable punishment, but if the System itself is at fault it is still too focused on blaming the wrong thing.

 

[daishi5]

Sorry but a mistake that causes another to lose their life should result in punishment. Just to say OPPS would be an insult.
That and the over worked is BS. Safety should never take a backseat to anything.

Do you know how many medications go through a hospital pharmacy on any given day? What level of error are you willing to allow? How much are you willing to pay to have appropriate staffing of people who A. never make mistakes, and B. have a PharmD.

And safety is always a trade off, it takes backseat to a lot of things.

 

[Cogman]

Sorry but a mistake that causes another to lose their life should result in punishment. Just to say OPPS would be an insult.
That and the over worked is BS. Safety should never take a backseat to anything.

He should have gotten canned, and potentially banned from being a pharmacist, but I don't think jail time and a criminal record should have been issued. The only, ONLY, reason he got the criminal record and jail time is because his mistake resulted in the death of a child. If it was an adult, I doubt he would be in jail right now.

 

[Gooberlx2]

All they did was ruin a guy's life, in the pursuit of venge...err..."justice". Jailing the guy will have accomplished absolutely nothing.

Firing him (and taking his license), the tech and suing the hospital are far more appropriate actions. Jailing him and passing (additional) certification legislation, are simply feel-good measures that won't make a lick of difference for prevention. As others mentioned, the issue of being overworked is systemic and freak accidents/mistakes will still happen even in the best conditions.

 

[Thump553]

I disagree with essentially all the above comments. The pharmacist had a position of trust and responsibility, and he failed in that responsibility. If he couldn't do the job adequately with his staff, then he should have left. Pharmacists are in very high demand and are very well paid.

If he couldn't handle the responsibilities of his profession then he should have gotten another job rather than allow people to be killed through his errors and poor supervision. This is the difference between a true profession and a mere job.

This six month sentence will do a whole lot more to improving health care delivery than a slap on the wrist or a wrongful death settlement paid by some insurance company.

 

[Cogman]

I disagree with essentially all the above comments. The pharmacist had a position of trust and responsibility, and he failed in that responsibility. If he couldn't do the job adequately with his staff, then he should have left. Pharmacists are in very high demand and are very well paid.

As pretty much everyone above has said, he should have been fired.

If he couldn't handle the responsibilities of his profession then he should have gotten another job rather than allow people to be killed through his errors and poor supervision. This is the difference between a true profession and a mere job.

How good are you at your current job?

Heres a tip, nobody thinks they suck/are doing a poor job. People get tired and make mistakes, irrespective of field.

This six month sentence will do a whole lot more to improving health care delivery than a slap on the wrist or a wrongful death settlement paid by some insurance company.

Oh? How so? Are people going to magically become immune to mistakes now that someone was jailed for making one?

If you make a mistake, would you want your entire life ruined for it? Thats basically what happened to this guy, he'll be lucky if he can work at mcdonalds with a criminal record. With termination, he would have had a tough time getting back into the medical industry, but at least he could pursue a different career.

 

[sandorski]

As pretty much everyone above has said, he should have been fired.


How good are you at your current job?

Heres a tip, nobody thinks they suck/are doing a poor job. People get tired and make mistakes, irrespective of field.


Oh? How so? Are people going to magically become immune to mistakes now that someone was jailed for making one?

If you make a mistake, would you want your entire life ruined for it? Thats basically what happened to this guy, he'll be lucky if he can work at mcdonalds with a criminal record. With termination, he would have had a tough time getting back into the medical industry, but at least he could pursue a different career.

Not to worry, so many people would love to have the same Job that they are Disposable.

Won't be popular for me to post this, not that I am, but Unions are making more and more sense. The average man on the street is being taken for a ride and is near powerless to avoid it.

 

[Vette73]

So if a pizza driver runs over someone and kills them firing them should be punishment enough? His job was backed up and he was rushing and made a mistake so just losing his job should be enough?

See how that works. If your job has a safety element in it that can cause someone to die you should be held to the same standard as anybody else. That and he makes a heck lot more then a driver or others that have safety issues in their job.

 

[Slick5150]

So if a pizza driver runs over someone and kills them firing them should be punishment enough? His job was backed up and he was rushing and made a mistake so just losing his job should be enough?

See how that works. If your job has a safety element in it that can cause someone to die you should be held to the same standard as anybody else. That and he makes a heck lot more then a driver or others that have safety issues in their job.

That could be the single worst analogy in support of an argument of all time. I really can't say any more than that as I don't want to justify it.

 

[Cogman]

So if a pizza driver runs over someone and kills them firing them should be punishment enough? His job was backed up and he was rushing and made a mistake so just losing his job should be enough?

See how that works. If your job has a safety element in it that can cause someone to die you should be held to the same standard as anybody else. That and he makes a heck lot more then a driver or others that have safety issues in their job.

NASA killed 7 people because of someone decided that their shuttles didn't need a full body inspection. Should they be charged with man slaughter?

11 people and billions of dollars worth of damage was done when the teton dam failed. Geologists failed to study the ground sufficiently and engineers didn't figure in the sedimentary nature of the gravel they were building on. Should those engineers and geologists receive jail time?

3 people were killed when the Mianus River Bridge collapsed due to a faulty pin and hanger assembly. Should the machinist that made that pin be jailed?

There's a difference between acting recklessness and making a mistake. This doctor made a mistake.

 

[Vette73]

^

So a cop kicks in your door and kills a family member. He has a peice of paper with your address on it and he thought they had a gun. Opps someone typed in the wrong street, simple mistake.

Again, you ok with that as well?

 

[Cogman]

^

So a cop kicks in your door and kills a family member. He has a peice of paper with your address on it and he thought they had a gun. Opps someone typed in the wrong street, simple mistake.

Again, you ok with that as well?

Yes, I would. accidents happen, sometimes deadly accidents. Sending everyone to jail that makes a mistake is retarded. Why does blame always have to be dealt out?

 

[jacc1234]

A more appropriate analogy would be someone with a deadly allergy to anchovies orders a pizza. Somehow some anchovies end up on the pizza and the person dies. Who is responsible?

 

[Gooberlx2]

^

So a cop kicks in your door and kills a family member. He has a peice of paper with your address on it and he thought they had a gun. Opps someone typed in the wrong street, simple mistake.

Again, you ok with that as well?

Obviously not. The city gets sued and the DA's clerk or whoever handled the paperwork gets fired. Instances similar to your example have happened, and I've never heard of someone going to jail over it. The city ends up paying $$$ out their ass (not to mention the debate over no-knock warrants for shit like this).

 

[Jaskalas]

Marlin, watch the video. Now tell me, is that man a danger to society?

 

[Vette73]

Marlin, watch the video. Now tell me, is that man a danger to society?

So only people that are a danager should be in jail?

Damm wife messed with me one to many times, so I killed her. I promise to never remarry and I have never hurt anybody before. Good for you?

 

[sandorski]

So only people that are a danager should be in jail?

Damm wife messed with me one to many times, so I killed her. I promise to never remarry and I have never hurt anybody before. Good for you?

Wives always mess with Hubbies, you would likely Kill again.