Paramedic Malpractice
Maternal mortality rates are considerably higher in the United States than they are in other wealthy countries. Most of these deaths are preventable; mothers get discharged from the hospital shortly after giving birth, and despite that they are still medically vulnerable during the postpartum period, doctors fail to take their complaints seriously when they begin to have worrisome symptoms in the days after going home from the hospital with the new baby. Black mothers have three times the rate of postpartum death as White mothers. In 2017, Shalon Irving, a public health educator whose life’s work was to prevent maternal mortality, died of postpartum eclampsia a week after the birth of her own daughter Soleil; doctors had not checked her blood pressure before discharging her from the hospital to know whether her preeclampsia had resolved after she gave birth. Many postpartum deaths result from medical emergencies that happen when the mother is at home; often, if the mother had been in the hospital or under a doctor’s care, doctors would have been able to respond quickly enough to save her. A Florida lawsuit resulted when paramedics responded to a new mother suffering a medical emergency, but determined, incorrectly, that she was stable enough not to need ambulance transport to the hospital. If you suffered serious injuries because of an error by paramedics, contact a Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorney.
Family Receives Settlement After Paramedics Refuse to Transport Woman Suffering Medical Emergency to the Hospital
On the Fourth of July, 2018, Nicole Black rushed to the apartment of her daughter Crystle Galloway after receiving a worried phone call from Crystle’s 7-year-old daughter. Crystle had given birth to a son a week earlier, and she had come home with the baby two days after his birth. Her daughter became worried when, after suffering a severe headache, she collapsed on the bathroom floor.
When the paramedics arrived, Crystle was vomiting and unable to speak clearly, but the paramedics determined that she did not need to go to the hospital by ambulance. They thought that she was drunk, even though her mother and daughter insisted that she had not been drinking. Nicole tried to persuade the paramedics to take Crystle in the ambulance, but they refused, saying that the family would not be able to afford it.
Nicole drove Crystle to the hospital in her car. Crystle suffered a seizure during the ride, and she died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Doctors determined that the cause of her symptoms had been a brain aneurysm. If she had been in the ambulance, medical personnel would have been able to prevent the seizure or respond appropriately to it. Crystle’s family sued Hillsborough County for failing to provide treatment that would have saved her life, and in 2020, they received a settlement of $2.75 million.
Set Up a Consultation Today
A personal injury lawyer can help you if you suffered injuries arising from an error by a paramedic. Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.
Sources:
flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/26/BillText/Filed/PDF
npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why
