A misdiagnosis among medical professionals happens way too often, leaving patients with permanent adverse health conditions or even leading to death. If a death occurs because of carelessness on the part of doctors, a wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate. One woman filed such a claim against a West Virginia doctor, the hospital in which he practiced as well as the ambulatory service that transported her husband before he died.
According to the lawsuit, co-workers of the woman’s husband found him on the floor near his desk and called 911. He stated at one point he had had trouble breathing after physical exertion for the past week, but he had apparently never experienced those symptoms at any point earlier in his life. Responders took him to a medical facility that was nearly an hour away but did not use sirens or otherwise treat the matter as an emergency. Once at the hospital, he was evaluated, a heart catheterization was performed and he was sent to the surgical unit for a heart bypass later that day. The man’s condition deteriorated after the surgery, and he was transferred to another medical facility in anticipation of a heart transplant; sadly, he died before a heart could be found for him, just five days after his initial attack.
The lawsuit accuses the ambulatory service of neglecting to treat the situation as an emergency in its manner of transport as well as not taking her husband to a hospital closer to his workplace. The hospital and the doctor were named in the suit because they, too, were accused of not being sufficiently expedient in the care of the patient. It is the wife’s belief had he been diagnosed and treated sooner, he would have had a better chance to live. A report on the lawsuit did not specify the amount of damages she is requesting.
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against someone deemed to have caused the death of another person through negligent or reckless conduct. There are legal boundaries that will have to be observed when filing this type of suit. An experienced attorney may be needed for guidance for West Virginia families who have lost a loved one due to negligence.
Source: wvrecord.com, “Woman blames Putnam County EMS, others for husband’s death“, Kyla Asbury, Oct. 25, 2016