UNTIMELY DEATH AS VIEWED BY DESANTIS
Recently, Florida Governor Ron Desantis has sparked debate with his views on the untimely death of Florida resident Carrie Morris. According to Desantis, his view on the untimely death of Morris depends mainly on whom he is able to “scapegoat.” In this matter, Desantis claims that he would default to blaming the mishandling or mistakes done during the medical procedure, which was conducted by a hospital in Florida.
At the same time, Florida law requires hospitals to report their medical errors and mistakes to an independent state agency, which is responsible for reviewing and determining whether or not mistakes were made during the health care procedure in question. Despite the law, many hospitals don’t report their errors and mistakes, leaving Desantis in a position where he is unable to blame the hospital for Morris’ untimely death.
In the absence of an obvious source to blame, Desantis has shifted his views to condemning system failures instead. He has called it “improbable that the tragedy could have occurred without a systemic failure,” and has put the blame largely on the health care system itself. However, one could argue whether or not it is appropriate to blame a system for the death of an individual, rather than taking responsibility and addressing the real underlying issue – medical errors and mistakes.
At the end of the day, Desantis’ view on untimely death is complex. He seems to recognize that medical errors and mistakes play a role in the death of individuals, but still feels the need to find a scapegoat in the absence of obvious mistakes on the part of a hospital. While Desantis’ view is understandable, it appears to be rooted in finger-pointing instead of self-reflection and tangible changes that could be made to address medical errors and mistakes.
