Mail Box Find Adds To Family's Grief

By TOM DUHAIN

Updated 9:00 PM PST, Tue, Nov 3, 2009

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Santa Clara parents of slain Sacramento State student Scott Hawkins are upset and saddened after a hospital sent them a form letter telling their loved one not to return for follow-up medical care.

Gerald Hawkins, the father of the 23-year-old Hawkins, on Tuesday called the letter from the UC Davis Medical Center insensitive, adding that it compounded the family's grief after the killing. Included also was a bill for more than $29,000 in emergency room costs.

Carole Gan, a hospital representative, blamed the letter and billing on a clerical error. She said someone neglected to flag that case as a death.

Police said Scott Hawkins was fatally beaten Oct. 21 at the university's American River Courtyard residence hall. Authorities suspect fellow student Quran Jones, who remains hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center after being shot by responding police, attacked Hawkins with a baseball bat. Both students are from the Bay Area. Hawkins grew up in Santa Clara and Jones is from San Francisco.

The letter, which was addressed as "Dear Patient," also urged Hawkins to seek future care from a county clinic or another doctor.

Gerald Hawkins said he appreciates the efforts of medical center staff to revive his son, and said he does not fault doctors involved.

Scott Hawkins, a Kaiser Permanente patient, was taken to the medical center after the attack. He was pronounced dead a short time after arriving.

Gerald Hawkins said the letter and billing shed new light on the death. He said he thought his son had died at the dorm, and had not realized what happened at the hospital. He also said that nobody has ever returned his son's wallet.

The father said the letter arrived at his Santa Clara home on Halloween, traumatizing him and his wife over the weekend. The couple then had to call the medical center billing center on Monday to straighten things out.

The medical center's Web site said its policy is to bill a patient's insurance company within two weeks of discharge.

The UC Davis Medical Center issued a statement Tuesday.

"Our hearts go out to the Hawkins family for the terrible grief and pain they are experiencing. We deeply regret that a clerical error caused them to receive a letter that brought even more distress. The patient's death in the emergency department should have been flagged as a death in the outpatient record. The flag would have placed a hold on all billing activity and, after 10 days would have initiated a letter of sympathy. This letter also would have informed the family that we billed their insurance or let them know that we did not have insurance information and to contact us. The form letter that was sent to the Hawkins family was a mistake. We have reviewed our system and strengthened our internal processes, which will prevent letters like these from going out improperly in the future."

UC Davis also said in a statement that its "Level 1 Trauma Center provided the highest level of trauma care (level 5) to Scott Hawkins."

"We followed Sacramento County's 911 triage criteria and did absolutely everything possible to save his life," according to the statement. "We have apologized to the family."

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.