Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-08
CASE OF FRED ECkHARDT
His Friends Dissatisfied With Treatment
Given Him at Emergency Hospital.
They VIII Ask for Investigations
Statement by DIR. Adams, Resident
Physician at Institution.

The condition of Fred Eckbardt, who was
assaulted by VIM. F. Ryan a few days
ago, continued to improve Up to late hour
this afternoon.
When seen by a Star reporter and had his
attention called to the statement made that
there was mo foundation for the COM
plants concerning the treatment of young
Eekhardt at the Emergency Hospital" Mr.
Cornelius Eckhardt, a brother of the in
jured man, made the following statement
I'VE have not as yet been able to fix the
responsibility for the treatment of my
brother, owing, of course, to his condition
The statement that he was kept at the hos
pital from until II o'clock pm is not
true He was taken there about I or 7:3O
o'clock in the morning and allowed to go
home about three hours later, or about IL
am. We were informed that the case was
diagnosed as an Ordinary nose bleed, and
treatment was made accordingly.
Il called at the Emergency Hospital yes
terday afternoon to investigate the affair
and state the complaint saw DIR. Adams
and told him of our feeling in the matter
and asked him why the case had been dag
nosed and registered an Ordinary nose
bleed as We had been informed. He stat
ed that this was not correct, and said they
had diagnosed it epitaxis.
Il then asked him why they had allowed
my brother to leave the hospital and that
too, to walk home, not even Offering to
send him in the ambulance. His reply was
that he was not there when my brother
left and that the physician q think he said
DIR. williams in charge had allowed my
brother to go at his own request.
His Third Hemorrhagc.
Now, at the time he was sent to the
hospital he had just had another hemor-
rhage, the third since the assault and was
then quite weak from the loss of blood.
The bleeding was from the nose through
the mouth into the stomach and it did not
stop until after 3 o'clock in the afternoon,
when about every drop of blood had left
his body, and to save his life Drs Richard
son and Van Rensselaer, were compelled to
transfuse hot salt water into his system
Another half hour, or possibly less and
nothing could have saved him.
THE treatment complain of is that
his case was not thoroughly diagnosed.
Had it been, they would not have allowed
him to leave the hospital when he requested
permission to go; and to do so, if the case
was thoroughly diagnosed as Dr. Adams
claims 1t was, was nothing short of crmi-
nal. Second that in allowing him to leave
they should have sent him home in the am
buance or summoned some other convey
ance. Third that one of the physicians re-
fused according to my brothers statemenD
to even telephone me at The Star office and
acquaint me with the fact that he was
there. He describes this man as having a
little black mustache.'
AS soon my brothers condition adj
mits of it, we intend to take the case to
headquarters. There has been, evidently
from their own statements and acts some
inhuman treatment somewhere, to say the
least about it, '
DIR. Adams' Statement
DIR. Adams, resident physician of the
Emergency Hospital, was seen this morn
Ing by reporter for The Star, when he
gave the following account of young Eek
hardts treatment at that institution:
Eckhardt was brought to the hospital
said Dr. Adams, "about-T o'clock in the
morning, and remained here until Ii
O'Clock, about four hours When he came
in he told us he had been struck. He was
bleeding from the nose. and there was
every appearance of anterior hemorrhage-
that is, that the wound was in the fore
part of the organ. DR.. Williams and l
packed his nose from the nostrils with
SauZe, and he washed out his mouth and
there was no blood in his expectora ion to
indlcate posterlor hemorrhage or bleeding
into the mouth. He said there was no
tficki ng. l saw him hourly until he was
discharged, at IL o'clock. There was no re-
currence of the hemorrhage while he was
mere, and there was every indication that
the bleeding had been effectively stopped.
He was discharged at his own request by
DR.. Williams. When he left the hospital
his pulse was good, and he seemed perfect
ly strong.
1t is nonsense to say we diagnosed the
case as one of simple nose bleed. The pa
tient told us he had been struck and we
knew all along that the hemorrhage was
traumatic-that it was brought about by a
blow. The case was entered up as one of
epitaxis, which is the term employed for
nasal hemorrhages in general. The pack
ing for posteriof hemorrhages is very pain
full and probes extending back through
the mouth must be used. 1t is never re-
sorted to except when the anterior packing
fails, it did net seem to do in this case
while the patient was here