A hospital is being sued by a nurse who saw a patient’s face catch fire during a surgical procedure, leaving the elderly woman with ‘charred black’ skin and severe burns to her hands and airway.
Nurse Marilyn Espinola was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, major depression and panic attacks after witnessing the horror incident on March 2, 2020.
It happened during a procedure to remove a section of an artery for testing at Sunshine Hospital in St Albans, in Melbourne’s north-west.
Ms Espinola heard ‘fire, fire’ being shouted during the bilateral temporal arterial biopsy, and then saw the patient’s face ablaze.
She then saw garments that had been covering the woman burst into flames before being thrown to the floor.
The fire was later found to have been caused by oxygen ignited by a tool used in the procedure.
Nurse Marilyn Espinola (pictured) was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, major depression and panic attacks after seeing a patient’s face catch fire during a procedure
‘I followed the flame and I stomped on it. It was like a dancing fire up to my knees,’ Ms Espinola told news.com.au.
She said there was screaming and shouting as the patient cried out in pain and medical staff told her help was coming.
Ms Espinola said everyone was screaming to turn the oxygen off and that she thought everyone in the room was going to die in an explosion.
Her life flashed before her eyes.
She managed to put out the fire, stopping the disaster from getting any worse, but couldn’t understand why help had not arrived.
The nurse later thought it may have been because the emergency button was only pushed twice and could have been mistaken as an accident.
Ms Espinola said the patient was in agony and was falling from the bed before the anaesthetist caught her.
‘Her face was just charred black, and the smell …’ she said.
Ms Espinola fell and injured her ankle while rushing to get water, but didn’t realise how much damage had been done until after the adrenaline wore off later that day.
She said that injury was not handled properly by her employer, nor was it included in WorkSafe Victoria’s initial investigation of the incident.
It took 18 months later before her injury was reported to WorkSafe, she said, despite her submitting several claim forms.
The initial WorkSafe report said the fire was caused by oxygen leaking from the ‘Hudson mask’ providing oxygen to the patient.
A tool being used to remove lesions from the patient’s face and neck was found to have ignited the oxygen, causing burns to her face, hands and airway.
She was taken to the Alfred Hospital’s burns unit and subsequently had surgeries to her face, neck, jaw and one of her hands.
![The horror incident happened during a procedure to remove a section of an artery for testing at Sunshine Hospital (pictured) in St Albans, in Melbourne's north-west](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/25/16/73589105-12335289-The_horror_incident_happened_during_a_procedure_to_remove_a_sect-a-13_1690299004934.jpg)
The horror incident happened during a procedure to remove a section of an artery for testing at Sunshine Hospital (pictured) in St Albans, in Melbourne’s north-west
Suffering from PTSD and having panic attacks three to four times a week, Ms Espinola has been unable to return to work, though she has made many attempts to do so.
She said she has been left practically housebound and reliant on her husband, who retired a year ago to take care of her.
‘I cannot be alone anywhere, I’m only safe here at home. I don’t drive anymore because triggers are everywhere. I get triggered every day just by watching TV,’ she said.
Erin Jobling of Shine Lawyers, which is representing Ms Espinola, said Sunshine Hospital should have known there was a higher than usual risk of surgical fire with the bilateral temporal arterial biopsy procedure.
She said the use of supplemental oxygen in close proximity to the equipment used created ‘an elevated fire hazard that could have been prevented’.
‘As a result of witnessing this incident, our client is unable to return to her career as a nurse, and her trauma symptoms continue to impact on her daily life.’
Ms Espinola is seeking compensation for her past and future loss of income and for her pain and suffering.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Western Health, which runs Sunshine Hospital, for comment.
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