Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
List the cause of death as homicide
A woman died after a two-hour wait in a hospital's emergency room. It is
your responsibility as a coroner to decide on the cause of her death. You
decide it is a non-criminal homicide, as the circumstances meet the legal
definition for that finding.
After your finding, you receive a lot of e-mails and media attention due
to your decision. Some people support you and others are angry with your decision.
At the end of the day you are satisfied that you served the community as best
you could given that an important part of a coroner's job is to make recommendations
to prevent similar deaths in the future. Your decision has started a debate
about the quality of medical care.
Dr. Richard Keller is a coroner in Illinois and was faced with this exact
circumstance and decision in real life.
He told the coroner's jury that, "The definition of homicide that I give
to the jury is either a willful and wanton act, or recklessness on the part
of someone, whether that's by their actions or by their inactions. Certainly,
by that definition, this is a homicide."
The coroner's jury agreed with Keller, and ruled the woman's death a homicide.
As with your decision, this meant that her death would be investigated further,
including the hospital's practices. That might lead to legal prosecution.
"This is a social justice, a greater good issue," says Keller. He used
the media attention that the case received to call for better care. "The quality
of medical care must be improved. No more excuses about an overburdened system.
Develop systems (quality) to ensure this never happens again."