By Jessica Fargen
The Boston Herald
Copyright 2006 Boston Herald Inc.
A Dorchester man who made headlines when he treated his mother’s cancer with rubbing alcohol and sued a hospital after she died during hip surgery is pushing for a law that would put cameras in every operating room in the state. “When a patient dies, their story dies with them and the patients’ families are left with unanswered questions and the trauma of not knowing what happened behind closed doors,” said Bill Trabucco, a 38-year-old Boston EMT.
Under Leona’s Law, named after his mother, Leona S. Trabucco, hospitals would have to make audio and visual recordings of all surgeries. Hospitals would be fined if they didn’t comply.
State Rep. Martin Walsh (D-Dorchester), who was approached by Trabucco, plans to file the legislation by the end of this month.
“We want to see more accountability in the OR, more patient recourse that if something were to go wrong, the patient’s family would have an opportunity to see what happened,” Walsh said.
He said they are drafting the final version and acknowledged that there could be barriers.
Kenneth R. Peelle, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said Bay State doctors support other ways to reduce malpractice problems.
“The intent is good, but we think it will turn out to be prohibitively expensive,” he said. There’s no proof that it would work, Peelle said, adding that he was unaware of such surgical videos being mandated anywhere in the United States.
“It’s not like putting a camera in a 7-Eleven for surveillance of a cash register,” he said. “You record the back of the surgeon for five hours, it doesn’t tell you much.”
Trabucco is no stranger to confronting the medical establishment. He drew medical ire in 1999 when he claimed that by using ethyl alcohol, he had reduced the size of his mom’s lung-cancer tumor. In 2000, his 62-year-old mom died during hip surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Trabucco, acting as his own attorney, sued the hospital for malpractice and lost.
Leo Boyle, a leading medical malpractice attorney, said relying on video and audio recordings — from cockpit recorders to mall security cameras — is not new. But using them to monitor doctors requires more debate, he said.
“It’s something that you are going to have to listen to all sides,” said Boyle, of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald in Boston. “The bottom line is to take steps that contribute to the safety of the surgery.”