An Ohio doctor is the target of a lawsuit that claims his negligence led to the death of a Stephenson man. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the deceased patient's family claims that the doctor performed a left heart catheterization and subsequently determined that the patient was fit to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting. The family claims that this operation caused the patient to suffer an injury to a major artery.
The lawsuit claims that the arterial injury led to a hemorrhage that the doctor failed to repair before beginning coronary surgery, despite clear indications of decreased hematocrit and hemoglobin levels in the patient's blood stream, which the lawsuit asserts should have notified the doctor of a hemorrhage. The lawsuit goes on to allege that the doctor then administered a blood-thinning drug to aid in surgery, which caused the patient to die of blood loss.
The family claims that the doctor acted negligently in failing to perform multiple tests, something that prevented him from noticing the patient's heavy bleeding. The complaint adds that the doctor should have then taken steps to locate and stop the bleeding before beginning surgery.
The man's family is seeking $2 million in damages to be distributed among his three surviving sons. The money would be used to pay for hospital and funeral costs, as well as to compensate the family for the emotional stress, mental anguish and grief caused by their father's death. The defendant has not yet been served the lawsuit.
Source: NV Daily, "Doctor named in wrongful death suit," Alex Bridges, Nov. 22, 2011