There are three basic criteria to conclude an ethical decision as created by Gerald F. Cavanagh. These are: Utility, Rights, and Justice. Utilitarianism judges wether a solution would result in the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Rights define all things entitled to a person, and Justice refers to fairness, wquty , and impariality. It is important to look at all solutions with respect to these criterion to determine the most ethical solution. In this case there are two solutions.
The first of these two solutions is to let the public know about the mistake. Based on the concept of utility, this would definitely not be a good decision. By letting the mistake be public, this may discourage those that are in desperate need of care to attend the medical facility. Without the need for a medical facility (because of the lack of patients treated) the hospital may close and most of the medical personnel and voulunteers would possibly lose their job or even the right to practice. Of course, it is the people's right to know of the mistake, and it is also justified to explain to the population that the mistake was accidental. But justice will not be served if the doctor responsible for the mistake is not punished for his mistake.
The second of the solutions is to continue to keep the matter private and not let anyone know about the mistake. I utility is taken into consideration, we find that many people benefit from this decision. None of the potential patients will be skeptical about wether to recieve medical help from the institution, and also all of the doctors will be able to practice. This is extremely beneficial to both parties. Of course, based on rights, the citizens will have no idea that the hospital made a mistake, and this would be dishonest. Finally, it is not justified to withold information from the people to Trinidad and Tobago. The does not allow the people to judge and make their own decisions about the health care.
Now, because at some times not all of the criteria agree, Cavanagh creates a "tie-breaker" that is known as overriding factors. These factors basically look at all three criterion and logically determine which are the most important to consider. This information is then used determine a conclusion. Although it is important and morally responsible for the doctors to tell the population of Trinidad and Tobago the truth, the knowledge given to them about the hospital would only discourage them from recieveing care. Many people will be helped if the rights and justice criterion were supressed.
The doctors chose to keep the mistake silent. This is the best decision based on Cavanagh's criteria for ehtics. All of the docters will continue to work where they would like to, and many of the sick and hurt will be administered help at the expense of lying. But, there is still one descrepancy left, the elderly woman. She is now blind because of the failed attempts of the hospital. She should recieve some kind of compensation for the pain that she has felt. Not only this, but the medical assistant responsible for labeling the bottle incorrectly should be punished. This will discourage any further mistakes from being made.
