Lights, sirens at issue in medical malpractice lawsuit

In some cases, patients in Connecticut go to the doctor for their regular checkup only to learn that they have a serious medical condition that requires additional — and immediate — intervention. Patients expect that their doctors will identify such a condition and promptly refer them for more treatment. Unfortunately, a family in another state claims in a medical malpractice lawsuit that one doctor indicated that a women was not experiencing a medical emergency when she was, resulting in a delay in hospital transportation that ultimately resulted in the woman’s death.

The lawsuit involves the 2015 death of a 37-year-old woman. At a regular checkup, the woman’s doctor reportedly conducted an EKG test that apparently revealed the woman was experiencing poor cardiac blood flow; she was also experiencing difficulty breathing. The doctor decided that additional testing was necessary. Though she called the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ambulance, she told paramedics that it was not an emergency situation, even though the patient’s family members claim that woman had several risk factors that should have indicated that it was.

As a result, paramedics spent time at the clinic examining test results and did not engage emergency lights or sirens. The four mile trip, according to reports, took 22 minutes. Soon after she arrived at the hospital, she experienced a cardiac arrest; her family made the decision to remove her from life support 10 days later.

Representatives for the doctor claims that the woman’s condition was urgent, but there were not signs that it was an emergency; they further argue that the woman would have died even if she had arrived at the hospital sooner. Regardless of their arguments, this instance of alleged medical malpractice left a teenager without her mother. Often, families who lose a loved one because a medical care provider failed to follow the appropriate standard of care are often unsure of their options. Fortunately, there are experienced professionals who can help victims in Connecticut understand the different avenues available to them.