Giving birth to a child is scary for many. Accordingly, pregnant women throughout the nation, including the state of Pennsylvania, entrust their health and safety with medical providers including doctors, nurses and medics. Unfortunately, as the family of a pregnant woman who recently died in the care of medics is aware, this trust is sometimes misplaced.
At the time of her death the 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman was nine months pregnant. When she fell down some steps, her family called 911 for assistance. At the time she was experiencing difficulty breathing. In addition to suffering from asthma, the woman was apparently also receiving treatment for a blood clot.
Initially the response of the medics seemed to be on track. The ambulance arrived at the house about 3 minutes after leaving the firehouse. Once there however, family members of the deceased said they did not believe things went the way there were supposed to. The medics did not initially bring any medical equipment with them from the ambulance and repeatedly tried to get the woman to sit-up on her own accord despite her reportedly telling them that she could not. Once she was finally loaded into the ambulance and administered oxygen, it took another seven minutes for the ambulance to leave for the hospital.
Once the ambulance arrived at the hospital things grew increasingly worse. As medical workers struggled to get the doors to the vehicle open so the pregnant patient could be unloaded, the woman's heart stopped. Once the doors were finally opened, the woman's baby was delivered via Cesarean section. Sadly, the woman did not make it.
The family of the woman who died has asked for an investigation into the matter. It is possible that they will file a wrongful death lawsuit as well. Any damages secured would likely be used to at least in part to raise the child she left behind.
Source: MSNBC, "Pregnant Woman Dies, Family Blames Medics," Marisa Brahney and Lauren DiSanto, Oct. 2, 2012
Our Pennsylvania law firm handles medical malpractice cases, including those pertaining to the type discussed in today's post. Please visit our Pittsburgh hospital negligence page to learn more about us.