In our last post, we talked about medical malpractice and the serious nature of this form of negligence. People count on their doctors and medical professionals to treat them with the utmost care, and in the absence of that, people can suffer horrible medical effects or even lose their lives. Today we have an extreme and unfortunate example of that.
A woman who gave birth to her first child died days after childbirth due to a misdiagnosis. According to a lawsuit filed by her husband and family, the 30-year-old woman gave birth and was cleared to leave the hospital the next day. But she started feeling nauseous and had a headache, so she soon returned to the hospital’s emergency room. Once there, a nurse practitioner diagnosed the woman with a urinary tract infection and sent her home.
In actuality, she had sepsis, an extremely dangerous blood infection that can cause fatal inflammation and complications within the body. And unfortunately, this is what happened to this first-time mother. She died of complications due to sepsis.
The lawsuit filed by the woman’s husband and her family was recently completed, and the result of the lawsuit earned the plaintiffs $20 million, which is the new record for a medical malpractice award in the state of Minnesota.
Medical malpractice can have life-changing – and, as this story sadly shows, life-ending – consequences. A misdiagnosis can lead to someone’s death, and the doctors or medical professionals responsible for such a misdiagnosis should be held accountable.
Source: Star Tribune, “Twin Cities jury awards $20M in malpractice case for woman who died after giving birth,” Paul Walsh, Aug. 29, 2017
