Hospital Refuses To Help Woman, Police Arrest Her

[sherri79]

So in the days leading up to that night, she was treated SEVERAL times. She had an outstanding arrest warrant. She was possibly here illegally. She was a transient and she was a drug abuser. If she was having these "pains" for several days and wasn't receiving care at this hospital, why did she keep going back? Why didn't her family, who apparently is so very concerned about her (right), take her somewhere else? Why was she left alone at the hospital while she was receiving treatment? Why didn't her "boyfriend" stay with her?

I think there are many unaswered questions. I don't think I'm going to jump to the conclusion that these hospital personnel need to be charged with murder or anything else until I hear some of the answers.

lets say yes. i have not read she was here illegally and i am not sure edith is a common Hispanic name but ok maybe she was illegal. she still should have gotten treatment then been deported. as for why she did not go to another hospital... if she is homeless i doubt she had insurance. in my town of 1 million people we have 1 county hospital. i doubt the family thought she was dying til she fell to the floor in pain. homeless drug addicts rarely have medical training to spot if it is serious. from the moment she fell to the floor in pain after she already had a script for drugs is where they system broke down. at that point the hospital should have seen her again. when police arrived they should have demanded she get medical care before they took her out. once she died they should have admitted she was in custody not days later. even a homeless drug addict can have family that loves her. they still should get the same treatment as the rest of us. if she was a addict jail her for having drugs on her or being high in public no problem. if she is illegal kick her out no problem. if she is dying getting her in to see a doctor should be no problem as well. i am not sure any1 should be charged with murder but loss of a job ... no problem.

 

[Shazza]

lets say yes. i have not read she was here illegally and i am not sure edith is a common Hispanic name but ok maybe she was illegal. she still should have gotten treatment then been deported. as for why she did not go to another hospital... if she is homeless i doubt she had insurance. in my town of 1 million people we have 1 county hospital. i doubt the family thought she was dying til she fell to the floor in pain. homeless drug addicts rarely have medical training to spot if it is serious. from the moment she fell to the floor in pain after she already had a script for drugs is where they system broke down. at that point the hospital should have seen her again. when police arrived they should have demanded she get medical care before they took her out. once she died they should have admitted she was in custody not days later. even a homeless drug addict can have family that loves her. they still should get the same treatment as the rest of us. if she was a addict jail her for having drugs on her or being high in public no problem. if she is illegal kick her out no problem. if she is dying getting her in to see a doctor should be no problem as well. i am not sure any1 should be charged with murder but loss of a job ... no problem.

This is such a sad outcome, and I do think we need to know more, but how much more information do we need to know. A Woman is dead for not receiving treatment. WHY? Someone in responsible.

 

[White Rain]

Congratulations WhiteRain! You overcame a powerful addiction. :woohoo::clap:

Thank you very much, and thanks to you Shazza, as well.

 

[Shazza]

Thank you very much, and thanks to you Shazza, as well.

Your welcome White Rain, it takes guts to overcome what you have and be able to talk about it, I respect you for your the way you have got your life back together, you are an inspiration to others. Good onya.:clap:

 

[txsvicki]

If the lady was a drug addict, surely she could have gotten her drugs off the street, she was going to the hospital because of the pain over a period of several days. I can see why her family might have left for awhile because some ER's will keep a person there for 6 hours. The hospital may have been the only one to take her in with no money or insurance leaving no options for another hospital. Does anyone know what killed the woman? The pain was a sign of something and I doubt if they did an MRI or extensive tests to find out what was wrong. It's all about money.

 

[TGIRecovered]

If the lady was a drug addict, surely she could have gotten her drugs off the street, she was going to the hospital because of the pain over a period of several days. I can see why her family might have left for awhile because some ER's will keep a person there for 6 hours. The hospital may have been the only one to take her in with no money or insurance leaving no options for another hospital. Does anyone know what killed the woman? The pain was a sign of something and I doubt if they did an MRI or extensive tests to find out what was wrong. It's all about money.

Bingo!
If a person has a medical emergancy while in police custody the city pays the bill. The officer who arrested the person has to stay with them while they receive treatment and they have a lot more paperwork associated with that arrest. It also presents liability issues for the city as far as being held responsible for causing the person harm or being sued if they die in custody.
Where I live, LE is supposed yo let the person get medical treatment, then arrest them if it is at all possible.

Susan

 

[Shazza]

I am sorry to say that your health system stinks.

 

[MeoW333]

Warrant or not, the police were supposed to have let her get medical care first in that condition and have doctors tend to her (handcuffing her to the bed or stretcher which is usually the case in those circumstances of arrest/warrant).. this is one death that could have been prevented.. i just don't understand how people would ignore someone in pain like that, especially in a hospital.
Sleuthin4fun, i know of cases locally of "frequent fliers" to the E.R.; most have mental illness. Do you get to recognize the "fliers" as having the same symptoms or different ones and could you tell if it were serious? I ask this in no offense, only to help me understand how the staff at Harbor my have dealt with frequent fliers, is there a common way?

I'm not sure how much of a turnover rate of staff or rotation they do at King Harbor Hospital, however you would think the staff would get used to the "frequent fliers" and be able to distinguish real symptoms from hypochondriac ones.

 

[Shazza]

Warrant or not, the police were supposed to have let her get medical care first in that condition and have doctors tend to her (handcuffing her to the bed or stretcher which is usually the case in those circumstances of arrest/warrant).. this is one death that could have been prevented.. i just don't understand how people would ignore someone in pain like that, especially in a hospital.
Sleuthin4fun, i know of cases locally of "frequent fliers" to the E.R.; most have mental illness. Do you get to recognize the "fliers" as having the same symptoms or different ones and could you tell if it were serious? I ask this in no offense, only to help me understand how the staff at Harbor my have dealt with frequent fliers, is there a common way?

I'm not sure how much of a turnover rate of staff or rotation they do at King Harbor Hospital, however you would think the staff would get used to the "frequent fliers" and be able to distinguish real symptoms from hypochondriac ones.

Everybody deserves the same medical treatment, black, white, whatever religion or lifestyle they choose, this did not happen in this case and a lady died and someone is responsible, so stop passing the buck and put an end to this so family and friends of this woman can move on with their lives.

 

[txsvicki]

[/B]

Bingo!
If a person has a medical emergancy while in police custody the city pays the bill. The officer who arrested the person has to stay with them while they receive treatment and they have a lot more paperwork associated with that arrest. It also presents liability issues for the city as far as being held responsible for causing the person harm or being sued if they die in custody.
Where I live, LE is supposed yo let the person get medical treatment, then arrest them if it is at all possible.

Susan

I understood the story to say that the hospital and security guards found that she had a warrant and were hauling her off to jail in a wheelchair. Maybe those security guards were police and had the authority or else they called LE. The woman had already been seen, given pain meds, and released. The hospital let her go without determining the reason for the continuing severe abdominal pain and didn't want to give further help. It also sounds like the coroner was at first given some false information. Around here, they also only take prisoners to the county hospital. A few years back, some idiot had the big idea to make the ER into individual rooms and a prisoner had a weapon and raped two nurses and held them hostage. The guards there really think they are hot stuff, too.

 

[angelwngs]

So sorry Sherri79 that you lost your baby. When I visit my doctor or the hospital I always make sure I get my point across and the relevant tests, X rays, etc are done. I have a great doctor, he now asks me what I think should be done, even though I am not medically trained, commonsense kicks in, and I make sure I ask for tests that rule out any major illnesses with the symptoms I present to the doctor, he is only to willing to refer me to a specialist or tests that are required.

We do know our own bodies, and if you think there is something not quite right, 9 out of 10 times there is something wrong. If your not happy with a diagnosis, get a second opinion, you must trust your own instincts.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

This was my point to my 24 year old son who asked me to take him to our doctor Friday. We were immediately sent to a surgeon upon my insistance. Our doctor is wonderful but highly overworked and scatterbrained as a result. He is one who NEEDS direction from the patient. (and he is the best of the best in our little town!)

Point being, it is very difficult to teach our children, even when they are young adults that they must take 'some' responsibility for their own health treatment and not toatlly rely on a medical professional for every answer. No one knows your body as well as you do.

We can not allow truth to be found in the old saying, "The only difference between God and a doctor is that God does not think that HE is a doctor!", by our sitting back assuming he/she has the degree on the wall and by 'innocently assuming' that in every circumstance he or she is making the correct decission in the best interest of our own health!

 

[Shazza]

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

This was my point to my 24 year old son who asked me to take him to our doctor Friday. We were immediately sent to a surgeon upon my insistance. Our doctor is wonderful but highly overworked and scatterbrained as a result. He is one who NEEDS direction from the patient. (and he is the best of the best in our little town!)

Point being, it is very difficult to teach our children, even when they are young adults that they must take 'some' responsibility for their own health treatment and not toatlly rely on a medical professional for every answer. No one knows your body as well as you do.

We can not allow truth to be found in the old saying, "The only difference between God and a doctor is that God does not think that HE is a doctor!", by our sitting back assuming he/she has the degree on the wall and by 'innocently assuming' that in every circumstance he or she is making the correct decission in the best interest of our own health!

Congrats angelwngs, for teaching your children how to look after their bodies, and making them aware that it is okay to question professionals if they are not happy or do not understand what they have been told, and if they are still not satisfied its okay to get a second or third opionion. I personally have had to do this and it has turned out if I hadnt I might not be here today. So unless you a pefectly confident that everything is being done and explained to you, keep asking.

 

[Shadow205]

And she ends up dying. I hope some jobs are lost over this.

LOS ANGELES — Relatives of a 43-year-old woman say hospital workers did nothing as she writhed in pain on the emergency room floor, and that officers who were asked to help arrested her on a parole violation instead.
The woman became unresponsive as police carted her away in a wheelchair and died.
County and state authorities are now investigating the May 8 death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, formerly called King/Drew, where several patients have died under questionable circumstances since 2003.
Recent scandals have caused the hospital to lose its national accreditation and federal funding, close its trauma center and shut its programs to train aspiring physician specialists.
Rodriguez had been prescribed pain medication for intense abdominal pain and released, but she remained on the benches outside the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Her boyfriend, Jose Prado, arrived later to find Rodriguez on the floor of the emergency room lobby writhing in pain, relatives said. He asked hospital staff for help, relatives said, then called 911 from a pay phone. (more at link)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272552,00.html

The part of the article that I highlighted in red, says a lot. She was NOT denied medical treatment. She was seen, given medication and released. As far as LE was concerned, the woman had been treated and released. To them, that is medical clearance giving them the OK to take her into custody on the parole violation. LE are not Doctors. In this situation they went on the fact that she had been seen by a Doctor and released. If they had delt with her in the past, it is possible that they thought she was faking the pain to keep from going to jail. Would you like me to share with you how many "fake heart attacks" I have seen? They come on right after the words "You are under arrest."
Sorry, but unless there is other evidence that has not been released, I do not see where LE did anything wrong and most surely nothing criminal. It is a shame that this woman died but not criminal.

 

[2sisters]

We have had recent rash on inmate deaths in my area. I am not sympathiser with mind you but it is just cruel to ignore their illness and serious symptoms and let them die. Just b/c they have done wrong doesn't mean their family remaining deserves that sort of tragedy.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I don't care if she was a drug addict, she still needed care and didn't get it. Let me play devil's advocate for the drug-addicted here.
As I have said before about 2 years I was addicted to meth. BUT, I was NOT what people percieve a drug addict to be...I was clean, did make-up everyday, have all of my teeth, and they are pretty, straight and white, I had a job/house, I did not steal from anyplace/anyone, didn't sell my body to get dope, etc...
Was I a criminal? Yes, I broke the law. Yes, I was a criminal. Taking drugs cost me alot of things in the end...but I was STILL a person, and IF I needed care, I would expect to have gotten it.
Not all drug addicts are semi-decent. There are PLENTY of addicts out there that do sell their bodies, their kids, steal from any and everyone...but they STILL deserve help if they are dying.

I'm not saying that she deserved it, but people need to take care of themselves. Our healthcare system cannot keep up with illegals receiving free medical care while uninsured Americans can't get treatment for their children. That's all I'm saying.

 

[MeoW333]

Everybody deserves the same medical treatment, black, white, whatever religion or lifestyle they choose, this did not happen in this case and a lady died and someone is responsible, so stop passing the buck and put an end to this so family and friends of this woman can move on with their lives.

I didn't mean for what i wrote to be taken this way; i agree that everyone regardless deserves medical treatment especially in that situation.
What i was asking is that if the staff at this hospital were regulars, despite whether or not this woman was a "frequent flier" the staff should have recoginzed that her symptoms were real and not hypochondriacal.
I did not bring up any race issues or anything else. In my person beliefe i think that everyone should be intitled to equal health care. I am not passing a buck around. This is a tragedy that could have been prevented if people were caring enough and doing their jobs. If there is anything i have wrote that you don't understand, please tell me and i will clarify it. It was not my intention to irritate you or anyone else on message boards. My question was based as so that we could figure out what the exact reasoning was as to why she wasn't given medical treatment.

 

[Shazza]

I didn't mean for what i wrote to be taken this way; i agree that everyone regardless deserves medical treatment especially in that situation.
What i was asking is that if the staff at this hospital were regulars, despite whether or not this woman was a "frequent flier" the staff should have recoginzed that her symptoms were real and not hypochondriacal.
I did not bring up any race issues or anything else. In my person beliefe i think that everyone should be intitled to equal health care. I am not passing a buck around. This is a tragedy that could have been prevented if people were caring enough and doing their jobs. If there is anything i have wrote that you don't understand, please tell me and i will clarify it. It was not my intention to irritate you or anyone else on message boards. My question was based as so that we could figure out what the exact reasoning was as to why she wasn't given medical treatment.

MeoW333, you were stating your opinion which I respect as I do all the other posters in this thread, it was just the fact that someone died and I think that death could have been prevented, I do get a little emotional when someone is taken away by someone elses errors in judgement. I have no animosity towards you or anyone here. You did not irritate me and I understood what you were saying we both just wanted to find out why this poor woman died.

 

[californiacarrie]

I am going to venture a quick guess that since it was said she kept going to the ER for several days and in light of her past drug use...
The Dr's not finding anything assumed she was just trying to score some pills.
Possibly in the past she had done so?
I get that the BF dialed 911 to seek help for her from the hospital but I find it odd the police would even do a check on someone they were called for to recieve medical help.

Depending on how bad she was "wanted" the info may have poped up when they put her name into the system. Or, if she was someone they run into on a regular basis they may have already known she had warrants or ran a check because they needed something to hold her on. This incidnet will be a good reality check for all involved - we all tend to get irritated with the "wolf criers" and don't always take them seriously when we should because you never know...

 

[Shazza]

Depending on how bad she was "wanted" the info may have poped up when they put her name into the system. Or, if she was someone they run into on a regular basis they may have already known she had warrants or ran a check because they needed something to hold her on. This incidnet will be a good reality check for all involved - we all tend to get irritated with the "wolf criers" and don't always take them seriously when we should because you never know...

Thankyou californiacarrie, you have given us another insight to this tragedy, but yes she should have been taken seriously even though her reputation a frequent flyer was known to the hospital, she must have had symptoms that would have justified more medical attention.

 

[froggierintexas]

There are some real jerks in the medical profession. In Galveston, Texas at University of Texas Medical Branch years ago a homeless man went to the emergency room for treatment and they had workers take him away from the hospital and dump him back on the street without any medical care. If there is any justice in this world, those people will be patients one day, with hospital staff treating them equally poor.