Kansas And Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Asks If A Misdiagnosis Lead To New Mother’s Death?

Did doctors in a New York hospital miss a diagnosis that caused the death of a young mother during childbirth? The answer of the question remains to be seen. The New York Times reported that a 34-year-old woman died after giving birth to her second child. Childbirth-related deaths are rare in the United States, but they do happen. The burning question is whether this death could have been prevented. If so, the physicians could face professional discipline as well as facing a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the grief-stricken husband of the deceased.

The stricken woman began experiencing contractions about one month before her due date. They contractions were severe, and she was having difficulty sleeping. Consequently, she went to the emergency room of a local hospital. There, the staff examined her and informed her that she was not ready to give birth. They advised her to go home and get some rest. She did and eventually fell asleep. The next morning, the expectant mother awoke with contractions and pain in her abdomen.

The contractions advanced, and the woman gave birth in her apartment. Her husband called EMS and a neighbor assisted with the delivery. The EMS responders took the mother and newborn child to the hospital for a routine examination. Everything appeared to be fine. Before leaving the hospital, the new mother, her husband, and the baby’s brother all took photographs. The woman did not appear to be in any distress whatsoever. That changed shortly after arriving at the hospital.

What was to be a routine examination of the mother took a tragic turn. The doctors determined that the mother’s placenta did not discharge along with the baby. Therefore, the attending physicians began a procedure designed to expel the placenta. The initial attempt failed. As a result, the physicians opted to remove the placenta surgically. Surgeons delayed the procedure for reasons that are not clear. The surgery yielded disastrous results.

As the surgery was almost complete, the woman’s blood pressure crashed. The woman went into shock due to blood loss during the placenta removal. The staff quickly transferred her to the intensive care unit for blood transfusions. She received several transfusions but would her blood pressure would not stabilize. Doctors contemplated exploratory surgery to determine the cause of the problem.

Even at that point, the doctors did not expect to lose her. They informed her husband that the procedure would take a little while. That gave the man time to go home to pick up his eldest son who was with a babysitter all day. By the time she reached his home, his phone had ringed. It was the hospital calling to tell him his wife died from the blood loss.

The man filed a medical malpractice action against the hospital and the numerous physicians who treated his wife the night before she died and the day she died. He is understandably heartbroken. The lawsuit is still pending in court.

The most careful, diligent, and circumspect physicians make mistakes. The question here though does not only be they negligent but did they commit an ethical violation? Whether this was just a tragic case that could not have been prevented or not remains to be seen.

Count On Zealous Representation If You Are Accused Of An Ethical Violation

If you are a medical professional or other professional licensee facing professional discipline, Attorney Danielle Sanger can help. Attorney Sanger has extensive experience representing various healthcare professionals as well as other professional licensees. Call Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 78-979-4353 to schedule a consultation.

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