Surgical Hospital Fined for Exploding Bladder

Menlo Park Surgical Hospital has been fined $50,000 for a medical error that could have been deadly, the California Department of Public Health announced Thursday.

According to documents, hospital staff caused a woman’s bladder to explode during a 2009 procedure. An investigation found that workers used a mechanical pump to fill the woman's bladder in order to stretch it for an exam, instead of using a gravity-fed bag.

Doctors were able to repair the woman's bladder.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which runs Menlo Park Surgical Hospital, said the staff member responsible for the error is no longer with the hospital, according to the San Mateo County Times. The state report says that remaining staff have been retrained.

This is the first time the state has fined the hospital.

Menlo Park Surgical Hospital is one of 14 hospitals statewide hit with substantial fines, including . The other Bay Area hospitals are Kaiser Foundation South San Francisco, and three San Francisco hospitals--Kaiser Foundation, Saint Francis and Saint Mary's Medical Center.

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