$1.25 Million Settlement In Medical Negligence Wrongful Death Action Hospital For Failing To Diagnose Bowel Intussusception.

The Plaintiff was a 40 year old female who was 39 weeks pregnant with her first child. She presented to the hospital with uterine contractions which led to an emergency c-section. The delivery was successful. The Plaintiff was admitted to the hospital for post delivery monitoring. She then tested positive for COVID. Beginning on post operative day 1 the Plaintiff began complaining of worsening abdominal pain. She then began to vomit coffee ground emesis. Her hospital physicians believed she was was suffering from constipation and prescribed laxatives over the next 3 days. The Plaintiff”s condition continued to worsen until finally appropriate imaging was ordered which showed a likely bowel perforation. However, before surgery could be performed the Plaintiff became septic, had an aspiration event and coded. She subsequently expired. An autopsy revealed she had a bowel intussusception which caused a bowel perforation and her ultimate death. She was survived by her newborn child. The Plaintiff alleged the hospital physicians acted below the standard of care by failing to timely and properly investigate the Plaintiff’s complaints, discover the bowel intussusception and surgically address it.. The hospital denied the physicians violated the standard of care, raised COVID as a defense as well as multiple statutory protections designed to limit damages in a malpractice case. The case settled for $1.25 million dollars prior to trial.