Oregon readers may already be aware that what happens in the hours following a major surgery is crucial to a patient’s recovery. For instance, after heart bypass surgery, it may be necessary to help oxygenate the patient’s blood. This is often achieved using an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (EMCO), which circulates the blood. The machine can only do its work properly if those attending the patient are careful. In one wrongful death case in another state, a woman claim’s her husband’s death was caused by hospital negligence.
After undergoing a triple bypass operation, doctors placed an EMCO in the man’s femoral artery. While he was hooked up to the machine, it was necessary to turn the man from time to time in order to prevent bedsores. When he was turned onto his right side, the EMCO worked its way loose.
This caused massive bleeding, which presumably led to the man’s death. The plaintiff claims that the staff responsible for his care was not properly trained in how to turn a patient who is attached to an EMCO. Furthermore, it is alleged that staff failed to notice that the patient was bleeding because they failed to appropriately monitor him.
Whether the woman will prevail in her wrongful death claim remains up to the court in which the case was filed. No matter how much trust people place in the medical staff attending to them, mistakes happen. However, when it comes to people’s lives, those mistakes can be deadly. If an Oregon resident loses a loved one due to hospital, doctor or nursing negligence, filing a medical malpractice claim may be the appropriate course of action.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, “Family accuses University of Chicago Hospital of wrongful death“, Tia Benton, Dec. 2, 2015