读者文摘:失去我一生挚爱的那天(7)

By making the hospital pay, I thought, maybe Laura’s death would stand for something.

我想，通过让医院赔钱，也许劳拉的死能代表些什么。

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health turned up more patient-safety violations¹ at Somerville Hospital,

马萨诸塞州公共卫生部在萨默维尔医院发现了更多违反病人安全的行为，

citing it for failing to provide a safe environment and for “poor quality of pre-hospital care.”

理由是它未能提供安全的环境和“院前护理质量差”。

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accused Somerville Hospital of violating federal law by denying Laura access to emergency care.

美国卫生与公众服务部指控萨默维尔医院拒绝让劳拉接受紧急治疗，违反了联邦法律。

Officials agreed to pay $90,000 to the government in a settlement.

官员们同意向政府支付9万美元作为和解金。

But my hope of making the hospital pay went no further than that.

但我想让医院出钱的愿望仅此而已。

In Massachusetts, a law protects public hospitals from being sued for more than $100,000 and indemnifies their employees, even in cases of wrongful death.

在马萨诸塞州，有一项法律保护公立医院免受超过10万美元的诉讼，并对其员工进行赔偿，即使是在非正常死亡的情况下。

Without the cap, we’d likely be looking at a multimillion-dollar verdict, assuming we won.

如果没有上限，假设我们赢了，我们可能会面临数百万美元的判决。

With the cap, Laura’s death, in the eyes of the law, hardly seemed to matter.

如果有上限，从法律的角度来看，劳拉的死似乎无关紧要。

But how could her death not matter? How could I go on living if Laura’s tragedy changed nothing? And so I began writing her story.

但她的死怎么可能无关紧要呢？如果劳拉的悲剧没有改变任何事情，我怎么能活下去呢？所以我开始写她的故事。

The Federal Communications Commission estimates that 10,000 lives could be saved annually²

联邦通信委员会估计，如果紧急救援人员能更快地接通911电话，

if emergency responders could get to 911 callers just one minute faster, and that figure could be vastly conservative.

每年可以挽救1万条生命，而且这个数字可能是非常保守的。

What can be done to save those lives, to make sure that no one else dies the way Laura did?

我们能做些什么来拯救这些生命，来确保其他人不会像劳拉那样死去？

There are a number of possible solutions. For one, I hope that regional 911 call centers become a thing of the past.

有一些可能的解决方案。其中一个就是，我希望区域911呼叫中心成为过去式。

Had Laura’s call gone directly to the Somerville Police Department,

如果劳拉的电话直接打到萨默维尔市警察局的话，

I am convinced that a local dispatcher, familiar with the hospital, would have asked Laura whether she was at the top or bottom of that hill.

我相信，熟悉这家医院的当地调度员一定会问劳拉是在山顶还是山脚下。

It isn’t just my view—911 calls misrouted to wrong call centers are a national issue.

这不仅是我的看法-911电话被错接到别的呼叫中心是一个全国性的问题。

Millions of 911 cell phone calls register inaccurate³ locations each year,

每年有数百万的911电话显示了不准确的位置，

because of tree interference, poor atmospheric⁴ conditions, and other challenges, per the National Emergency Number Association.

根据国家紧急号码协会，位置不准确的原因是树木干扰，恶劣的大气条件，和其他挑战。

Locations are so often wrong that, according to one survey, 82 percent of 911 operators doubt the location information they receive.

根据一项调查，位置经常是错误的，以至于82%的911接线员都怀疑他们接受到的位置信息。

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

3 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。