Many medical malpractice suits settle out of court and the settlements are not made public. However, recently a Pennsylvania judge ruled against disclosing a recent PA woman’s settlement because the public’s right to know outweighed the defenses concerns. With that, it was released that the woman suing a Pennsylvania hospital for medical malpractice won because of an error on behalf of hospital and staff. This settlement, while large, is a bitter-sweet moment for the family after a horrifying error caused the death of the woman’s unborn twins.
Medical malpractice is not limited to surgical errors, which most people think of immediately. It can apply to misdiagnosis or mistreatment of common illnesses that can make a mild or moderate condition very serious. This is what happened to this woman while she was 33 weeks pregnant with her twin girls. According to proceedings, doctors failed to properly monitor the woman for preeclampsia which caused a seizure that detached the placenta and caused both girls to be still-born.
The multi-million dollar settlement is well-deserved, although it does not bring her twins back to her, it does place fault on the negligent parties involved. Preeclampsia is a condition that can be monitored and kept under control, in most pregnancy cases which is likely what the plaintiff presented and proved to the judge presiding the case. The wrongful death suit will hopefully prevent this specific instance from happening to any other family ever again. Unexpected loss is sudden and disorienting, but this woman did the right thing in seeking justice.
If you or a loved one is considering how a doctor or hospital’s behavior could have affected a loved one’s death, it’s a question worth asking. A full investigation is part of the reason the woman was successful in bringing her claim. There can never be too much evidence, especially in cases of wrongful death. Gathering the evidence is one of the early steps in bringing a medical malpractice suit.
Source: palive.com, “Huge 4.25 million medical malpractice settlement as Pa. mom loses twins,” John Luciew, August 26, 2016