Oregon readers might be under the impression that every hospital here in the state and around the country has some sort of emergency response protocols, often referred to as code blue systems that immediately respond when needed to resuscitate patients. However, it turns out that there was at least one hospital in the country whose system failed to be employed immediately. In the resulting hospital negligence claim, the jury ruled that the hospital’s failure led to the death of a then-teenage boy’s mother.
The woman died in a hospital in her area in Jan. 2009. While there, she was sedated and somehow went into cardiac arrest. A code blue was initiated. Records indicate that it took approximately seven minutes for the team to respond.
As a result, the Chicago woman is said to have suffered brain damage. In the lawsuit filed on behalf of her son, who was then 14 years old, it was the damage to her brain that led to her death. It was contended that the delay in life-saving measures was the impetus that caused her death, and the jury agreed. The jury entered an award of $8 million against Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago.
This woman’s family took it upon themselves to help ensure the future of her son much as any Oregon family would do under similar circumstances. Hospital negligence is dangerous because people’s lives are often at stake, and it should not be allowed to continue unchecked. Therefore, patients and/or their families should not shy away from exercising their rights to file personal injury or wrongful death claims against the medical facility, and anyone else, whose actions caused permanent or fatal injuries to a patient.
Source: abc7chicago.com, “$8M awarded in lawsuit against Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital“, April 27, 2016