Safety concerns are being raised about a medical center in California after a nurse was recently pinned between an MRI machine and a bed during a freak accident, an investigation by KTVU uncovered.
Nurse Ainah Cervantes sustained “crushing injuries” that necessitated surgical intervention when the MRI machine’s powerful magnetic force unexpectedly pulled a hospital bed toward it. This incident occurred while Cervantes was caring for a patient on a bed at a medical center in Redwood City, which is operated by the California-based healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente.
The patient fell from the bed and fortunately did not suffer any injuries. However, Ainah Cervantes became trapped between the front of the tube-shaped MRI machine and the bed.
“I was being pushed by the bed,” Ainah Cervantes recounted to investigators during a report conducted by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). “Essentially, I was moving backward. If I didn’t move, the bed would have pinned me underneath.”
Cervantes suffered a severe laceration that required surgery, involving the removal of two embedded screws, as indicated by documents obtained by the station.
Despite the incident occurring in February, the investigation was not concluded until several months later. The inquiry carried out by the California Department of Public Health revealed that the Redwood City center had “failed to provide radiologic services in a safe manner.” It exposed a series of errors that led to the mishap involving the MRI machine, which uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the body for medical diagnosis. medical center in California
Investigators noted that there were no MRI personnel present in the room during the incident. Additionally, no one, including the patient, was screened, and the room’s door was left open. Most significantly, the safety alarm system did not trigger as it should have.