[DiamondSmiles]

Nicole Fabian-Weber

September 10, 2013

A woman in Torrance, California, was horrified to find out that when she was completely knocked out from anesthesia during surgery, the anesthesiologist and a nurse reportedly affixed a fake mustache above her lip and yellow tear drops coming down her cheeks, and snapped photos of the unconscious patient in this state.

Adding insult to injury, the woman found out about the tasteless prank after she returned to her job as a surgical supply purchaser at the very hospital she received surgery. She claims that she was either approached by coworkers who had seen the photos or ignored by people she formerly had communication with.

And now she's suing. And if I were a betting woman, I'd say she's going to win. Big.

Torrance Memorial Hospital has acknowledged the fact that the photo, "demonstrated poor judgment," but claims it was, "intended to be humorous in nature." The woman, on the other hand, claims in her lawsuit that she was fully anesthetized rather than sedated, "for the sole purpose of humiliating and embarrassing the patient."

The lawsuit also says, "Perhaps the most vulnerable position any human being will ever endure in their life is a time when they are placed under full anesthesia." And I can't say I disagree. I would be pretty mortified to find out people were "defacing" me while I was having surgery as if I had passed out at a party from drinking too much.

Whether this was merely meant as a light-hearted joke or not, the fact these medical professionals completely abused their power and responsibility for fodder is unacceptable. When patients go under anesthesia, they're entrusting doctors and nurses with their body. They're entrusting them to not do anything they didn't consent to -- and this woman clearly didn't consent to this. And let's not even get into how this is violating all sorts of HIPPA laws.

Like I said, I'd be shocked if this woman didn't wind up walking away with a serious chunk of change after this lawsuit is over. And I wouldn't be surprised if the anesthesiologist and nurse wind up losing their jobs.

Was the "joke" really worth it, guys?

[banana dick]

fucking douchebags. I would laugh about a fake mustache, but this should never happen. 100% unprofessional and cruel. doing something to somebody when they are incapacitated, no matter how innocuous you think it is, is terrible and wrong.

[gatagato]

She doesn't look that bad

[DiamondSmiles]

She looks like someone on the old Wanted posters from the Old West, but, it's still unprofessional and uncalled for.

She was probably humiliated in front of her co-workers.

[dcaccount22]

No need to sue the hospital. She wasnt harmed and she does look pretty funny. Give them a reprimand and be done with it.

[Megamel29]

That is horrible treatment of a patient. Despite the fact that she wasn't hurt, she was disrespected. That is not how medical professionals should treat their patients.

What I find odd is that people who used to talk to her would stop talking to her because of this photo. What is that about?

[Iliketurtles]

I giggled. Only because im a sick fuck

Its horrible though. Very unprofessional and disrespectful

[JohnFrash]

I thought it was funny. She should have just owned it and laughed about it. But the fact that she is making a huge legal deal about it kinda informs me as to why she was targeted for the prank to begin with. Shouldn't have happened, but barely worth talking about let alone suing over.

[invertigo]

That's the kind of stuff you save for frat parties.
They were completely disregarding the Hippocratic oath, something they swore to adhere to before they were even employable.

Pranks have no place in a professional environment- at least not in their minds- and they were damn well aware of it when they took their oaths. No excuses.

[JohnFrash]

She was a coworker though. That is a slightly different dynamic than someone who is just a patient. There are spats/feuds/pranks that get out of hand here at work all the time, but if any of our employees ever treated a customer that way they would be instantly fired. There is always a bit of history between coworkers, which allows some leeway. I still feel like, despite any inappropriate behavior, the prank is very mild and her reaction to the prank is probably what is causing any personal fallout. People stopped talking to her? That doesn't add up. It is a tasteless prank, nothing life-altering. Nothing malicious or even mean-spirited from what I gather. But she wouldn't get her "huge chunk of change" if she settled it like a normal person.