New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-24
A CASE OF GROSS CRUELTY.
INVESTIGATION NEEDED HERE.
n,u.pv,nrr CONDUCT OF DR. FITZPATRICK
AN AMBULANCE SURGEON, REsULIlN"
N MANS Deaf 80

N MANS Deaf 80
MI. ,nosg ooree.sness and repeated neglect OF duty
an ,hn NOR, nj an ambulance surgeon may have c"uSeu
Tho death of Mildred Almsbad Inc S"ens" '"''
who fell into the hold Of the steamship ruo""' vi
Thursday afternoon. When the man ien i"'o INV
hold of the vessel he fractured his skull on' VIZ
curoeon Ftzpatrick, OF the Chambers street Ii"sP''i'
.s called 10 attend to him. he refused 10 MAKE
~ examination OF the mans injuries, saying uf'1
he was drunk The policemen who were caiieu "
look st the Injured man could PLAINLY see '""' u'0
man was s.riously injured. and again ""u ds"'" a.
Fitzpstrick was called but each time ne rei"'cu "
attend the man. and. after suffering the most cA'
cruceting pain the heSIec'-u s'o' W
The following day. c,,hor,
And although the Superintendent OF ohamoer,
Street Hospital has heard Of the outrageous ee' VI
duty on the part Of his subordinate, ne e''u " i
porter for The Tribune last evening tha' Ho i"e
lion Of the case had been made that ne hau pele't
confidence in Dr. Fhpatrcks ability 10 use soOu
Indictment and that 80 far rs he WAS conocrheu, Nv
Investigation would be made in reference 10 ''''o
most serious charges against the ambulance S",seon
An Investigation into the cause OF the oeaUh y.
the sailor reveals one OF the mo>V S"',N ..-
neglect on the part of Dr. Fitzpatrick ana demo"s'e
;rin,ancv q, some of the members Of the medical
con ~ chambers Street Hospital TO judge case
properv Almsblad fell into inc Ncsse'e
hold while under the lnhuehce VI A',
about 6 O'Clock Thursday evening. oo'no y,
carried him 10 the Old slip police station 'elseH.
Scriar who WAS in charge at the tln~, was too 'a'
the man had been injured, ard he caheo 10 INC WV
pbone operator mt Chambers street hosP'dl u 'o
An ambulance TO the police station MS Neh'ie ,"'
with Surgeon Fitzpatrick in charSe' pu' INC '''V
did not take the trouble carefully 10 examine he mail
lie simply looked at him. the ponce say anu wv
mediatplv pronounced him drunk lie rcfuscn 10 'aHo
tbe sailor away and for the time being the ponce
thought the man only drunk and they piaceu MIN
in cell. ~,
,-as not injured as he groaned like man who was
suffering intensely and again, about ociocN ,no
chambers Street Hospital physicians were tod tha'
therr was a case which needed attention ut the ponce
station Dr. Fitzpatrick happened to be Ill ci"i so vi
the ambulance which responded this time, anu ol0o
more he told the police that the man in the cen WIS
suffering from alcoholism" 50 the Vicum' ai."o"s"
entering from a fractured skull, was permitted 10
,cmain in a cell all night After the surgeon haa
twice told the policemen that Amsohu vas INV
seriously injured. they accepted MS s"'oe "
ueving that they themselves we're in error anu i,
further attention paid to the PRISONER '' "
main until the following morning
At 5 O'Clock Friday morning the sersc"'' 49,
,rr,moned the ambulance and for the 'mru
time Dr. Fitzpatrick told the ponce '"'' "
was simply case OF oruhh -.
indignant this time because the police refused 10 az
cont his statement about the condition OF the man rs
mo-, trouble himself again to send to Chambers c'''
Hospital on any such case. Shortly aer"" ~
so ge-snt told Policeman Gilmore anu o'e uV
patrolman TO take the sailor to me lo""s ~
Conrt Accordingly the man was haf carrieu """
half dragged to street car and taken oclore '"
C,tr When he was supported between u'e
,,,o noliccmen before the magistrate, Ills laco
was bloody and terribly swollen lie Hcquvn"'
cried out in agony during his trip TO the court ""o
facing tho Justice he plainly expressed HIS su''''"e
II was evident to anybody that the man Wa, Se'-
injured and as soon as the magistrate sa" 'iv "a"
condition he became indignant and said that lhe NOS
INITIAL instead of the police court, was the place lo ~
prisoner He ieprmanded the ponce Ior pi"s"e 9.
prisoner IN such condition before him, ana "heh ~
was expsined to him that ambulance surgeon Id"
twice pronounced the man In no neea Oh nie'''"' '
tion he became more indignant.
aTb,s man should have been taken 10 nos
pital last night said Justice smith. IL Is a.,
outrage that any doctor refused 10 a''"'
him to a hospital. man does not nave 70 DC
ohvsciau 10 sec that this prisoner Is seriously hur
,usticc smith then ordered the police to call an
ambulance at once and have Almsbad taken to Belle
yue Hospital DR.. Meacham. the ambulance surgeon
from Bellevue, came this time, and immediatey hlor
looking at the said that he was badly hurt ana
needed attention at once. II made hasty eXamha-
tion of a wound on his forehead said Dr. Meacham
last evening and discovered that the patients skull
Was fractured did not think the fracture was bad
one but when made more thorough examination
after getting to Bellevue learned that 1t was most
serious case and that in order TO save his life
trepanning necessary. Doctors ellison, De Lahcy
and Van Loan performed the operation
"The patient too weak. however when the
oueraon was performed TO survive, but II the
only hope the operation took place. 1t might have
been successful had ii been performed the night be-
fore. i would not like TO say that the mans he
would positively have been saved had the operation
taken place at that time but there is possibility
that A. vould proved successful. AlmSblad dld
not regain consciousness after the epanning and ne
died at o 10 O'Clock last night
DR.. jenkins, who examined the man after death
yesterday his report says that 1t was the worst case
of fracture that came under his notice
Coroner Levy it is said will investigate the case
fully II no one else does At the inquest Dr. Fitzpatrick
will probably called upon to testify.
DR.. Fitzpatrick not on duty at the Chambers
Street Hospital yesterday afternoon, but the supenn-
tendent of the institution there to speak for him
SELF lie said I've had not paid enough attention to the
case TO be able to much about it, Il heard That
Dr. Fitzpatrick accused Of carelessness,'
said the superintendent, but have the utmost con-
fdence in Dr. Fzpatrcks ability TO treat such cases,
and have not talked much TO him about the case
All have in the papers"
"wi not an investigation be made - he asked.
Il do not know" the reply. " so far as am
concerned there will not be any such proceedings
Joseph II. Choatc is Of the governors OF the
Kcw-York Hos ptal, but when he last evening
"Cases Of that kind come up before the Executive
ntend.nt of Chambers street Hospital in this case,
doubt, would report the case to his superior the
superintendent at the New.York Hospital, and he in
Lrn would inform the governors
rhe superintendent Of the New-York Hospital could
81 f' the institution said he was In, but that he Was
with s family at that hour and mnt not be disturbed
TALK ABOUT JUSTICE BRADLEY's SUCCESSOR.