Unthinkable Malice in the NICU

Some cases are ones you cannot get out of your mind. These cases relating to abuse by a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are in that category. It appears that the nurse deliberately snapped the bones of tiny babies.

Think about that a minute: A nurse did this.

The court recently denied bail for this nurse. My reaction is that that was the right call.

In over forty years as a trial lawyer (most as a medical malpractice trial lawyer), I have seen horrendous cases. When I was on the defense side, I found myself having to defend stuff that was indefensible. Now on the other side, I bring those cases on behalf of patients and families.

However, before the NICU matters, the worst cases I had ever seen (on either side) were mistakes. They might have been very bad or inexcusable acts or omissions, but I never encountered a healthcare provider acting with actual malice. This is what makes these cases so disturbing.

In fact, I would say that in my years as a malpractice lawyer, I have rarely encountered healthcare providers who I felt didn’t care about their patients – at least on some level. They might have been very bad doctors or nurses, but they didn’t intend to harm their patients.

Doctors can be socially difficult and abrasive, but I have never encountered one who was so mean that he or she wanted to hurt the patient.

This situation at our local hospital is entirely different.

While it is easy to paint the nurse as evil – and that is likely a fair assessment – that does not mean these will be easy cases. Of course, the question is why a national hospital chain, HCA, allowed this to happen at one of its flagship facilities.

We will dig deep on that issue. It’s quite possible that we may find very disturbing information.