Medical complications that arise from surgical procedures are fairly common. Hospital staff members, including doctors and nurses, are typically able to diagnose and deal with common complications and ensure patients are comfortable. Unfortunately in some instances, doctors and nurses make medical mistakes and fail to recognize and attend to symptoms that can result in the serious injury or death to patients.

The family of a 25-year-old woman recently filed a lawsuit against a hospital claiming the medical facility is negligent in contributing to the woman's death. The young woman entered the hospital to undergo a stomach operation.

While still in the hospital recovering from the procedure, the woman complained of severe stomach pain and excessive vomiting. One of the doctors attending to the woman prescribed pain killers to control the excruciating pain, but the vomiting continued.

The woman's husband and parents pressed doctors and nurses about their loved one's condition and asked for a plan for her care and recovery. They contend, however, that they were never provided with any answers and that their concerns over the woman's health were dismissed.

Still in the hospital, the woman called her mother complaining that she was having difficulty breathing. She relayed that her attempts to notify medical personnel of her shortness of breath were being ignored by hospital staff.

A short while later, hospital staff discovered the woman lying in a pool of vomit with no pulse. While medical personnel were able to briefly resuscitate her, the woman ultimately died.

The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in which they contend the hospital and staff are negligent in causing the woman's death. They are seeking compensation in excess of $50,000.

Source: The Express-Times, "Easton Hospital negligent in death of 25-year-old woman, family says in suit," Tom Shortell, Sept. 12, 2012