Six Inland hospitals have been fined for mistakes in care that ultimately harmed patients and, in one case, caused a patient to die.
The penalties, which were announced Thursday, were part of $775,000 in fines that the California Department of Public Health levied against nine hospitals throughout the state, according to published reports.
Mistakes ranged from leaving foreign objects, including sponges and gauze, in patients after surgery, to setting patients on fire.
The Inland hospital that were fined were Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center, St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino, St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley and Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar and the Southwest Healthcare System, which operates Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, were also fined, according to the reports.