The tragic death of his daughter to medical error has led a Massachusetts father to champion a fight for patient’s rights. “Taylor’s Law,” which will allow testimony from the patient and the patient’s family against offending doctors at disciplinary hearings, has been signed by the Governor and is now in force.

Thirteen-month-old Taylor McCormack of Massachusetts died while awaiting surgery to repair a malfunctioning shunt in her skull that had been implanted at birth to drain fluid. Test results showing abnormal carbon dioxide levels in her blood went unnoted in her chart while the attending physician slept through repeated pages because his beeper was set to vibrate and didn’t wake him.

This left two neurosurgical residents in charge of baby Taylor’s care. Taylor urgently needed surgery to remove the build-up of fluid on her brain. In reality, the doctors waited all night to perform surgery to relieve pressure from fluid building up in her skull. John McCormack said his daughter could have been saved had doctors at Children’s Hospital in Boston acted promptly and more closely supervised her treatment.

Disciplinary action against the doctors involved was in the form of a censure from the state Board of Registration in Medicine. This rather mild action against the doctors put McCormack into motion. He disapproved of patients and families of patients being barred from disciplinary hearings for doctors and getting no chance to argue for tougher sanctions.

McCormack, a Massachusetts state trooper, became a tireless campaigner at the state level for open-door disciplinary hearings. It was a three-year personal battle that has now resulted in the passage of the law signed by the governor that will allow patients, along with an attorney, to be present at the disciplinary hearings. They will also be allowed to present an impact statement as direct input to the board.

Hence, “Taylor’s Law” was born.

“After the death of my daughter, we were shut out of the Board of Registration in Medicine disciplinary hearings,” said McCormack.  “I looked into my heart and decided I needed to do something to make sure other families have a voice in the system. This law ensures that patients and their families have due process, accountability and fairness when they have a complaint before the board.”

He called “Taylor’s Law” a step in the right direction for patient’s rights!

SOURCE:  The Center for Justice & Democracy:  www.centerjd.org/stories/McCormack.html