Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-03-29
SERIOUsCHARGES
AGAINST DOCTOR
| MADEBY COURT
Judge Stuart Scores Paia Hos
ttaI and DR.. McConkey For
Treatment of Wilson Case

I
|
hare no doubt in my mind tina
i il kried upon the merits. Dr.. Acc On
Ilet would be found guilty o. rnHl.rac
tiot, as to his conduct OF this case.
| ouch IS the sensation i charge mad
lssEnst ET. Wilbur +. McConSey. gov
rGtnent physician and physician a
th4 Pa.a hospital on Maui, by Circus
Judge Thomas 3. Stuart in the latter:
decision in the $50, 900 damage snit OF
NJ. "a. Martin against A. A. Wilson, the
.co4tractor.
.kIdge Stu'rt severely arraigns the
Naii doctor, going. into considerable
detail and declaring further at an
lotler point:
] 'To say that the doctors acts were
Legitimate practise would be a libel
Icnkhe profession of medicine and sur
geE." -.-.
thes Judge also" condemns in no I'M,
ce4ain terms the Paia hospital and
its lhead nurse.
tartin was employed by Wilson as
| workman On stone wall in Kakip1
| guEh, on the Maui belt road. While
/ on THE wall one day the parapet gave
wat, precipitating Martin to the
ert1nd &c or 30 feet below and seri.
/ ou&y injuring him. He was removed
| by Wilson to the Paia hospital As a
result of the injury Martin AYERS he
| had been crippled for life, and has
sud- Wilson for $4,000, alleging neg.
lig{nce on the contractors part in fail.
ind to build the wall with supporting
male SO as to provide proper safe
guards. ~s
The case went to jury a week or
te1 days ago, the jury returning
yeilict in Wilson's favor ]. Light.
fod counsel for Martin. presented. a
mdion for a new trial and Judge
Stuart granted it, setting aside the
jurt's verdict on the ground that it
wal not in keeping either with the
facas or law of the case.
The courts decision granting new
trih is a lengthy document covering
ne4rly IA typewriter pages. His con-
dehnatory comment on Paia hospitals
he'd nurse and DR.. McConkey is as
|folbws:
ut is said that the plaintiff Is to
blaine on account of his conduct in
tho hospital. 1t is almost common
knowledge, If not quite so, that an
.injkry Of this kind, although not conf.
plitated with compound or comminut.
ed Fracture OF the bone, must be well
car forsfn order to. prevent the Wast;
ind away of the fleshy, parts through
put formation. In all hospitals the
muses. steadily watch the temperature
of The patient and nearly every hour
q bcord is made of temperature; and
th6 temperature plays a most imports.
ant part in the determination of the
ACTON to be taken by the physician or
suigeon in such a case
naily and at every visit he calls
fo1 these records, examines them
cl6ely. If there'is heat, much inflan.
mkion and pain, it argues that unless
it Is stopped the flesh win, in plain
language, rot away.
There are no records in the Paia
hotpital, no such record was kept The
doftor does not know what treatment
waB given, be can not state on any
psfticular day or even week of the
THEE months in which this man was
In his hospital, what was done for his
relief The head nurse, or as she Is
st3led the superintendent, is equally
ignorant Of the conduct of the hospi-
tai and does not know whether. it has
am wards in 1t or not. Had the doc
to4 been paying attention to the case,
.hekwouli have known that the inflam-
m3fion was spreading and that pns
was forming. Under these circum.
stances, it is not good practise to
catse the wound to heal up on the
sutface, as he says 1t did within the
first three weeks.
IGood practise would be to keep that
wdnnd open and reduce the tempera.
tuie and stop the decaying of the
pats. He did not do this. He wrap-
PED it up in some kind of a well-known
ankiseptic and left the man crying and
screaming day after day. think plain
tiff is right in his conclusion that If
hd had not gotten out of that hospital
atfthe time he did, he would have been
Carried away corpse.
ITO say that the doctors acts were |
lie Ultimate practise would be libel on |
thu profession of medicine and SUR
geky To say that that hospital in its !
shkwn treatment OF this case is com /
dtfted as hospitals usually are in Ha-
W., would also be libel on every |
hoe pital in the territory Now the |
Lltintiff was carried to that hospital |
bI the defendant The doctors az.
arr the defendants acts.
Whaterer the doctor did negligent,
lyIand wrongfully is the act of the de.
fetdant The PLAINTIFF Inns nothing to-
sat about it, except ID finally insist
nIbn leaving the place The doctor
saks that, at the end Of three weeks,
tht wound was virtually healed, and
be- talks about secondary blood poison.
fnk His excuses IN this respect are
tok my mind the merest subterfuges
ami If they in fact existed they are
al TO be attributed to the want of care
Iht he failed to give to the patient
TIE wound should have been kent I
DIhn and the inflammation should
hit e been reduced. The limb should
hag re been brought to as near the nor
ntl temperature as possible
tThe story Of the secondary blood
poisoning is simply absurd The sur !
prkme court In this territory has been
aaN1ol mar, S,acSs 1it1o,, thu d1.f,- ~ \