Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 21:18:01 -0800 From: Claudia Coles (ccoles@dcez.dcez4tag.com) Subject: Payment Solution :) ? / Helena's Malpractice Suits? [NOTE: Only thread-relevant part reproduced here] Speaking of "lending a hand", has anyone noticed when Dr. Russell tries to lend a hand, that she sometimes causes serious injury or even death to the recipient/patient? Talk about malpractice suits [ get ready Daphne :) ]. Remember Yesta from "Dorzak"? "Poor Yesta" ( I'm quoting Sahala's exact words here folks), she never had a chance after Dr. Russell got through with her. What made Helena take out that alien device from Yesta's brain is beyond me. She didn't know the physiological make up of these beings, however, she felt compelled to take out that one thing that protected Yesta from Dorzak's powers. Of course, poor Yesta died because of her regained vulnerability to Dorzak's powers. Oh well. There are other episodes like this too where Helena seems to take the initiative and perform a medical/procedure on an alien life form which she seemingly had never encountered before and knew nothing about. "Earthbound" was another one where Helena assumes that the aliens are dead (not thinking that they may have a different physiology which may read out differently on Alphan test instruments) and proceeds to open the sealed space container which instantly kills the alien inhabitant. Can anyone name any other episodes like this? Don't get me wrong folks, I love Helena, there wouldn't be a show without her. However, it seems that on some days, she just doesn't pull it all together, you know what I mean? If you really think about it, had two similar situations as the ones I have just mentioned, occured back on earth to humans, (*especially* in the United States), she would have such a trail of malpractice paperwork that she could wallpaper the whole of Moonbase Alpha, and still have enough left over to do some interior decorating in all the eagles [ I know, I'm exaggerating :) ]. What does anyone else think about this? How about you Daphne? Would Helena be a viable client :) ? TTFN.
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 06:36:47 -0800 From: jquimby@utmmg.med.uth.tmc4tag.edu (Jeanette Quimby) Subject: Helena's Malpractice Suits? Well Claudia, I'm not Daphne, but working in the Medical School and Texas Medical Center - There are physicians who do a lot worse with absolutely no punishment and continue practicing their trade. Helena was at least attempting to "heal" or "help" these aliens, which in all sense - she was following Physician's Oath - try to heal (it doesn't guarentee the results you will receive). There's currently a physician here in Houston, who is performing "drug trials" on cancer patients without first going through the "proper channels" of the FDA and the steps involved in making a drug available to humans. Now, the news has shown the patients who "would have died without his 'miracle' treatment", but it's not showing those who died sooner due to lack of "proper" treatment for their cancer. In today's let's sue the doctor world, Helena would probably be in court every day in between patients (yes, they can still practice while tied up in court) - but if you look at her for being a physician who is in the practice to heal and not make money - she was doing what was right in her heart and according to the oath she took. Do you also realize that even if Helena were sued and lost in court, she could legally still practice medicine. Very few physicians lose their licenses if found guilty of malpractice. In Texas, the only "legal" way to "disbar" a physician is through the Board of Medical Examiners - of course, this board is primarily made up of physicians . Helena in "accidentally" killing her alien patients instead of healing them, was in all practicality doing nothing wrong in the way she practiced medicine. She was attempting to "save a life", she just didn't do a "residency program" in aliens. A doctor does not have to be "board certified" to practice a particular speciality. The degree allows them to practice any type of medicine - I don't think there were course on alien physiology in Helena's medical school. Not having board certification may make them a bit more vulnerable to lawsuits, but they have not stepped outside the bounds of what they were trained and licensed to do. So, let the aliens sue. I would find her not guilty - she was attempting to save them with the skills she knew, without malice, intent to kill, or for personal profit. Nor was she "mentally unbalanced", but fully aware that by her attempts the risks that were involved in attempting to "save" the life. Jeanette P.S. You forgot, she also killed the father in the episode about the Mark of Arachnon by performing the "blood transfusion". Both she and was it Vincent or Mathias found the cure for the "killer disease". The father knew the cure before Helena and Vincent/Mathias, yet never said anything because he knew the risks. The father also knew the risks involved when he agreed to save his son. Helena had no idea the father would die, but the father never told her about the risk of basically "bleeding to death". This happens today to - patients forgot those "simple" little things - like murmurs, prolapsed heart valves, the other 30 medications that they are on that were prescribed by four other physicians - so when they undergo a procedure and develop complications - is it the doctors fault or the patients? (At least for this episode )
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 07:45:49 -0800 From: mpoindexter@class44train.com (Marshall Poindexter) Subject: Re: Physician-colleague in "Archanon" >You forgot, she also killed the father in the episode about the Mark of >Arachnon by performing the "blood transfusion". Both she and was it Vincent >or Mathias?.... Actually, it was neither. Helena's physician-colleague was a Dr. Raul something. I don't believe we see him again after this episode. By this point, the actor who played Matthias had already left the series (without any explanation about where his character went, of course). In the context of the series, someone else surmised (perhaps it was in the Technical Manual) that Matthias was transferred to another section soon after "The Exiles" (his last appearance in Year 2). Vincent appears soon after that ("Journey to Where," for example). Perhaps Vincent was just starting in with the Medical Center staff and hadn't become the permanent replacement yet since "Mark of Archanon" doesn't occur very long after "Journey to Where."
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 07:49:45 -0800 From: mpoindexter@class44train.com (Marshall Poindexter) Subject: RE: Helena's Malpractice Suits? >I don't think her intentions would be under scrutiny. Rather, her > judgement. The plaintiff's attorney would probably try to show that > undue risk was taken. In the case of Yesta, I don't believe Dr. > Russell found any direct evidence that the implant was causing her > condition. She kind of took a guess and removed it. That type of > action is very difficult to defend in court. > >Can you imagine if an alien doctor was operating on a human and removed > a pacemaker or mechanical heart valve because the human was not > regaining consciousness? > >Amardeep I find this discussion very interesting. I understand what Claudia was saying when she originally made the point, but I actually *like* the fact that Helena wasn't *always* successful. It makes her more human. Of course, it does appear that most of her "victims" were aliens, which hardly seems fair. Maybe this partially explains the inherent hostility most alien races express to the Alphans. "Hey, Mgkljse, there's a rogue Moon. Let's plunder it." "Sure, but I've heard to watch out for their physician...." :)
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 08:26:58 -0800 From: jquimby@utmmg.med.uth.tmc4tag.edu (Jeanette Quimby) Subject: RE: Helena's Malpractice Suits? >Can you imagine if an alien doctor was operating on a human and removed > a pacemaker or mechanical heart valve because the human was not > regaining consciousness? > >Amardeep You are right there - the outcome would be horrible if a life-preserving implant was removed (this could also include a VP shunt to remove fluid from a brain). But, Yesta's implant, as we found out, "blocked" Dorzak's mind control. Removing the implant did not directly cause her death, but was an indirect consequence of it. Yesta's implant in a sense could be compared to a hip replacement, knee replacement, etc. It was not critical to keeping her alive, but it made her life easier to live - she would not be under Dorzak's mind control. Removing it would not "directly" kill her - if Dorzak had not been around - she would not have even needed the implant. Let's take it a step further - what about Mathias/Vincent implanting that Yesta's implant in Tony. It was a totally alien device, not tested, not guarenteed to work on humans in the same way. Tony did give "informed consent" - but think of the direction of the story if it had not been compatible to humans? Yesta was already seriously injured prior to Helena working on her. Could Sahala's statement have been a general one concerning Yesta's chances for survival whether in Helena's hands or not. Keep in mind, Yesta did regain conciousness after surgery and was "stable" for a bit. Her death could be attributed as much to recovering from the trauma she experienced in the "accident in space", as much as it could have been attributed to Helena's medical care. How many victims of car crashes are operated on and sometimes don't make it even though they received the "best care available" at the time. A physician works on a patient with little or no background history, and hopes that they will survive - they may or may not know of an allergy to a medication/anesthetic or even what meds the patient is on (coumadin a blood thinner does not make for easy emergency surgery). Helena in a sense with Yesta was in the same situation. Yesta had suffered a head injury in space - who was to say the implant was not "shrapnel". More food for thought {g}. Jeanette