A jury has awarded a $7 million settlement in the case of 54-year-old woman whose family sued for wrongful death after a hospital stay for a routine procedure resulted in complications leading to her death.
Victoria Lynn Brown Harmon visited a hospital in the summer of 2007 to receive a hysterectomy. She stayed overnight after the procedure, and although she complained about experiencing pain, she was released the very next day.
Harmon returned to the hospital the same day she was released. Her family says that she was sitting in a chair when a sneeze caused her to experience pain. During her second visit to the hospital, it was discovered that her bowel had been perforated and that the pressure caused by the sneeze sent contents of her bowel into her abdomen.
A second doctor sent Harmon to the operating room for several procedures, but because the perforated bowel had gone untreated for so long, Harmon had suffered organ failure, including brain damage, as well as pneumonia and sepsis. She was placed on dialysis until her family and medical staff both agreed that her injuries were too severe to continue treatment.
The jury in the wrongful death case ruled that negligence by the doctor who performed the hysterectomy was indeed the cause of Harmon's death. The plaintiff's attorneys said that the doctor neglected to notice signs of inflammation, perforation and infection.
The doctor who assisted Harmon treated Harmon when she returned to the hospital was found not to be negligent.
If you suspect that death of loved one while under the care of a hospital or medical facility was caused by medical malpractice, click here to contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates or call us toll-free at 800-541-9376 for a free consultation.
