Boston Emt Pushes For Operating Room Recordings

Medical Malpractice > Hospital Accident

July 28, 2006

Print | Email | Link | Medical Malpractice | Massachusetts

Dorchester, MA - A Dorchester man who sued a hospital after his mother died during her hip surgery is now pushing for a law that would put cameras in every operating room in the state.

The law he is pushing for is called ' Leona's Law,' named after his mother, Leona S. Trabucco, hospitals will have to make audio and visual recordings of all surgeries. Hospitals would be fined if they didn't comply.

State Rep. Martin Walsh (D-Dorchester), who was approached by Joe Trabucco, plans to file the legislation by the end of this month.

Rep. Martin Walsh said that he wants to see more accountability in the OR; more patient recourse that if something were to go wrong; and that the patient's family would have an opportunity to see what happened.

He said they are drafting the final version and acknowledged that there could be barriers.

Kenneth R. Peelle, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said Bay State doctors support other ways to reduce malpractice problems.

Bill Trabucco drew medical ire in 1999 when he claimed that by using ethyl alcohol, he had reduced the size of his mom's lung-cancer tumor. In 2000, his 62-year-old mom died during hip surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Bill Trabucco, acting as his own attorney, sued the hospital for malpractice and lost.

Leo Boyle, a leading medical malpractice attorney of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald in Boston, said that relying on video and audio recordings is not new. But using them to monitor doctors requires more debate.

Injury HelpLine Newsletter

Products and Services