This will Piss You off

macbeth1000's Avatar
So I just read this, the individual that brought Ebola to Dallas and passed away from it.....Well his family settled out of court with the Dallas Hospital...My Mouth hit the Floor. There are talks of a Book and Movie deal...THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE HUMAN RACE.

This makes no sense, regardless the Hospital didnt observe all its protocols, regardless that the Hospital is trying to avoid the cost of litigation that may damage it image.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-ou...7#postComments
From the hospital point of view it's good business to settle out of court - it goes away just a little faster than a lengthy trial and less media attention. As it is, Presbyterian is going to have a very hard time getting it's reputation back despite round the clock commercials talking about how great they are. Still, it's a fascinating look at damage control. BP went through the same thing with the offshore oil spill.

From the victims family point of view, I don't know this for sure but I have a feeling they were presented with options and a settlement was the fastest way to get the most amount of money. By settling, the attorney fees are far less and there's no appeal process delaying things even more. I think there may be a cap on how much they could sue for anyway, and since the settlement amount was secret we may never know. But I'm guessing someone did the math.

Sadly everyone is going to make out just fine from this deal except the guy that actually died from ebola. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing plays out. I'm guessing Presbyterian will have a name change in the next 5 years.
Chung Tran's Avatar
I heard the settlement was half a million, split among 6 relatives, the girlfriend left out.. but that movie/book prospect could be large.. interesting (sad, really) that a Foundation in Liberia will be set up in Duncan's name.. the same Liberia that threatened arrest if he returned there..smh
I heard the hospital's expected money lost from this ordeal is $600 Million, that is why they settled and are trying to shut this thing up.

Agree, they do not deserve money
macbeth1000's Avatar
Only in America can this crap happen, only in America
bored@home's Avatar
Only in America can this crap happen, only in America Originally Posted by macbeth1000
Dude, really???
Let it go man, you have this notion of the Ebola boogie man which has been time and time ....and time again been put to rest. Guy died, nurses lived...business (presby) moves on, shouldn't you?
Plenty of people get sent home from the ER and then return worse and die or dont even make it back at all. Does that mean everyone can sue? Somehow I doubt it. I was misdiagnosed with something simple and got seriously ill before a Dr finally listened to me. I have permanent nerve damage and other irreversable effects as well. At least Im alive but it still sucks and I sure cant get money for it. If im lucky I might be able to get a few hundred a month in disability!!!...But all im stuck with now are 1000s in hospital bills that I cant pay and screwed up credit!!!
sparrow1122's Avatar
How many ebola patients are getting airfare to Dallas now?
Sad president that has been set! Get sick, we will take care of you (naw...you don't have to pay for it) and we will take care of your family (are they even here?!?) and we will build a treatment center and name it after you!

You are welcome,
US Tax payers (the few, the proud and the minority)
Chung Tran's Avatar
Sad president that has been set! Originally Posted by sparrow1122
interesting slip instead of "precedent"
I don't have much of a problem with it. More importantly, the hospital doesn't have a problem with it. No way they settle that quickly unless they thought they had significant exposure. Could've drug it out for a couple years, if they wanted, but they instead ponied up inside of 6 weeks. There's a reason for that, and I expect that reason is that the breaches of protocol (or near absence of protocol) were even more alarming than we've been led to believe.

Don't mistake the foregoing as some kind of glowing endorsement of the patient or his conduct. It's not, but it's also not an indictment against him. I just know that the hospital thought they were gonna get popped -- and popped hard to the extent the statutory limits allow (and those limits are lower than you might think) -- or they wouldn't have settled so quickly. Hopefully this has resulted in a significant tightening of protocol and we won't ever have to deal with a similar scenario again. If that's the case, then I'll just view this as a relatively small "fine" and money well spent to get the bigger point across regarding patient care.
Hercules's Avatar
At first family is yelling racism, how the hospital is evil, how health care is evil and how they want to make sure things get improved for everyone and blah-blah-blah. Then the hospital gets out its check book and everyone is friends again. Sell outs.
macbeth1000's Avatar
Dude, really???
Let it go man, you have this notion of the Ebola boogie man which has been time and time ....and time again been put to rest. Guy died, nurses lived...business (presby) moves on, shouldn't you? Originally Posted by bored@home
I am lost as to what the hell you are talking about. What Ebola boogie man? seems you misread my post on this subject so I wont waste my time trying to educate you on what was written.


So getting back on target, I wonder whether the hospital settled because of the bad press or if it felt it was in the wrong. I dislike people trying to capitalize and make money when they are clearly in the wrong.
Duthgar1976's Avatar
Lets see he went to the hospital and told them everything they needed to know and they LET HIM GO. So yeah the hospital is liable because instead of being in quaratine he was at home. went back 2-3 days later and the hospital was like UM OOPS! So yeah the hospital should be paying out the ass for what happened to this man. Plus the family can only get as much as 250,000 Texas law. dont mean thats what they got.

I am happy for this mans family instead of having him they will get some compensation.

People here act like he got Ebola on purpose to try and kill everybody.
This is why healthcare is ridiculously expensive for the rest of us. This guy illegally leaves his country to come here likely knowing he's at least exposed if not infected. He receives treatment for which the hospital had virtually no chance of being reimbursed. Then after his death, his loved ones receive a cash settlement? I won't hold my breath, but the ones receiving the checks should now pay the bill.
Trill Jackson's Avatar
You're mad because the hospital settled out the of court?

They have plenty of money and they did this to avoid going to court, not because they're just very generous.