Skip to main content

Was the Alec Baldwin Shooting Accidental?

Image
By

Even casual followers of the news are aware that actor Alec Baldwin killed one associate and wounded another during a film rehearsal.  It was a horrible tragedy that captured the nation’s attention.  How could such a thing happen? This is the same question we ask when we learn that a surgeon has removed the wrong kidney.  

I’ll leave aside how much attention this tragedy has received in comparison to the intentional killings that occur daily in cities throughout the country.  While all lives are equal, it does not seem that every life receives the same attention.

Based on what is now known, it does not seem to me that this shooting was a mere accident that occurred from pure happenstance.  Of course, the shooting was not intentional, but it appears that there was a reckless disregard of established firearm safety protocols.  Investigators will surely discover how a live bullet ended up in Alec Baldwin’s gun.  More facts are emerging daily that indicate a laxity of gun safety and multiple deviations from industry standards.  I suspect that the ongoing investigation will only further highlight the negligent behaviors that culminated in a tragic homicide that should never have occurred.  Criminal charges are possible.

If my tire is punctured while driving and my car hits a tree, this is an accident.

If I notice that my front tire is deflated, and I take it for a drive anyway, is it still an accident if the tire blows and I hit a tree?

Live Rounds on the Set?


I’ll admit that I don’t know much about filmmaking, and I know even less about firearms.  But, I know quite a bit about safety processes and protocols to minimize the risk of adverse events.  We are all aware that airline pilots methodically run through a checklist before every flight to verify that everything is in proper order.  We would likely feel less secure if pilots simply took a quick scan of the cockpit and then flashed us a thumbs up.  This checklist is the result of intense research and experience and is designed to catch any item that is out of line.  The key is that this process must be faithfully executed every time without exception. 

Physicians understand this process well.  Before every surgery or medical procedure, the team participates in a ‘time out’, when the patient’s identify is confirmed as well as the intended procedure and any potentially complicating factors.  Does the x-ray with the broken hip hanging in the operating room correspond to the patient about to be put under?  Complacency and indifference can lead to tragic outcomes. We have all heard about patients who had the wrong organ removed or received medication intended for another patient.  The checklist procedure minimizes the risks of these outcomes.

I surmise that the results of the Alec Baldwin investigation will show serial deviations of process that involved multiple individuals all of which led to a horrible outcome.  Does this sound like an accident to you?

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Most Doctors Choose Employment

By
Increasingly, physicians today are employed and most of them willingly so.  The advantages of this employment model, which I will highlight below, appeal to the current and emerging generations of physicians and medical professionals.  In addition, the alternatives to direct employment are scarce, although they do exist.  Private practice gastroenterology practices in Cleveland, for example, are increasingly rare sightings.  Another practice model is gaining ground rapidly on the medical landscape.   Private equity (PE) firms have   been purchasing medical practices who are in need of capital and management oversight.   PE can provide services efficiently as they may be serving multiple practices and have economies of scale.   While these physicians technically have authority over all medical decisions, the PE partners can exert behavioral influences on physicians which can be ethically problematic. For example, if the PE folks reduce non-medical overhead, this may very directly affe
44 comments
Read more

Should Doctors Wear White Coats?

By
Many professions can be easily identified by their uniforms or state of dress. Consider how easy it is for us to identify a policeman, a judge, a baseball player, a housekeeper, a chef, or a soldier.  There must be a reason why so many professions require a uniform.  Presumably, it is to create team spirit among colleagues and to communicate a message to the clientele.  It certainly doesn’t enhance professional performance.  For instance, do we think if a judge ditches the robe and is wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that he or she cannot issue sage rulings?  If members of a baseball team showed up dressed in comfortable street clothes, would they commit more errors or achieve fewer hits?  The medical profession for most of its existence has had its own uniform.   Male doctors donned a shirt and tie and all doctors wore the iconic white coat.   The stated reason was that this created an aura of professionalism that inspired confidence in patients and their families.   Indeed, even today
36 comments
Read more

Electronic Medical Records vs Physicians: Not a Fair Fight!

By
Each work day, I enter the chamber of horrors also known as the electronic medical record (EMR).  I’ve endured several versions of this torture over the years, monstrosities that were designed more to appeal to the needs of billers and coders than physicians. Make sense? I will admit that my current EMR, called Epic, is more physician-friendly than prior competitors, but it remains a formidable adversary.  And it’s not a fair fight.  You might be a great chess player, but odds are that you will not vanquish a computer adversary armed with artificial intelligence. I have a competitive advantage over many other physician contestants in the battle of Man vs Machine.   I can type well and can do so while maintaining eye contact with the patient.   You must think I am a magician or a savant.   While this may be true, the birth of my advanced digital skills started decades ago.   (As an aside, digital competence is essential for gastroenterologists.) During college, I worked as a secretary
6 comments
Read more