A Pennsylvania man who believes his wife would be alive today were it not for the medical treatment she received at a hospital in the state, recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging medical malpractice. His 37-year-old wife died several days after being admitted to the hospital.
The woman, who was the mother of two, first went to the hospital complaining of a terrible headache a few days earlier. She was discharged several hours later, allegedly despite the doctor's belief that she was suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. She returned several more times over the course of the next few days until she was given a drug called dihydroergotamine, also known as DHE, to treat the headache.
Because of other medications the woman was on, the woman allegedly should not have been prescribed DHE. Even if she could take the medication, the doctor reportedly failed to give her the required Benadryl at the same time. After taking the DHE the woman suffered two seizures. She was nonetheless discharged again several hours later despite allegedly seeing flashing lights and suffering from confusion. After several more trips to the emergency room where she was prescribed other medications, the woman finally visited her primary care doctor.
The primary care doctor instructed the woman's husband to take her to a different hospital where she was given an MRI. It determined there was something serious going on with her brain and she was flown to a third hospital for additional testing. There it was determined that she had suffered strokes and that there was bleeding on her brain. The doctors said they believed the strokes were a result of the various medications she had been given at her previous visits to the emergency room.
Though the woman then received treatment for the condition, by then it was too late and she was declared brain dead.
The complaint, which names the first hospital and neurologist who saw her as defendants, alleges that the death could have been avoided if the original doctor would have properly diagnosed the condition. It also claims the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act was violated.
There is obviously nothing that can be done to bring the wife and mother back to life. While no amount of money can ever undo the harm that was done it may make the future easier for her husband and children.
Source: The Pennsylvania Record, "Abington Memorial Hospital sued by widower of deceased 37-year-old mother of two," Jon Campisi, May 17, 2013