Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

It’s what’s known as the “July Effect” – a spike in medical malpractice incidents as a result of new medical trainees beginning work at hospitals across the country. Though it sounds like fodder for a horror film, the New York Times recently reported on a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrating the phenomenon.

Data produced in this latest study showed an 8% increase in patient deaths, and even higher rates of other instances of medical malpractice, including higher hospital charges in the month of July.

The reason behind this phenomenon is that medical students begin internships in July, and in addition to the risks that come with their newness to the profession, those just starting out replace the trainees who have had a year or more’s worth of experience in the position. Moreover, students are unfamiliar with systems in place in the hospitals, and when transitioning between health care workers, sometimes not all of the information about each patient is passed along to the new provider.

With more than 20 hospitals in Illinois designated as Teaching Hospitals – hospitals in which the July changeover is an annual occurrence – the risk of medical malpractice in Illinois is alarming. Certainly hospitals can implement better precautionary and supervisory measures, and many do, but the numbers still seem to show that isn’t enough.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Unquestionably situations will arise in which you simply can’t avoid the need for medical treatment, and it is your right as a patient to receive the best possible care. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys have seen hundreds of cases where unfortunate mistakes could have been avoided, and deaths could have been prevented. If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, in the month of July or in any other month, you may have a valid claim for medical negligence. An attorney specializing in medical malpractice will be able to help you establish your rights.

The Watch Dog Blog recently posted an analysis of a new federal report on the quality of care received by Medicare patients. The results are sad and shocking. One in seven patients was found to have experienced harmful medical care while at a hospital. The consequences of that poor medical care were widespread—from extended hospital stays to death. In all cases, the complications cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Specifically the report reveals that 1.5% of Medicare beneficiaries died as a result of mistakes in their medical care. In raw numbers, that total number of patients is shockingly large. Over 15,000 patients are killed each month in part because of those medical mistakes. Over 134,000 patients suffered a variety of non-fatal injuries because of error—from medication problems to treatment delays.

The cost of these errors is estimated to be $324 million per month in additional taxpayer bills. Over the course of a year these mistakes increase Medicare payments by an astounding $4.4 billion.

Medicare is the federal government health care assistance program for the elderly. The results of this particular study were culled from a U.S. Health & Human Services review of a national sample of 780 Medicare patients.

Continue reading "New Report: 1 in 7 Medicare Patients Victims of Harmful Care" »

The nonprofit group ProPublica recently revealed the results of a new study involving the investigation of kidney dialysis patients. Time magazine recently explored the startling findings which show that dialysis patients in the United States are more likely to die than similar patients in almost any other industrialized nation. Thousands of kidney patients die in the US because of poor medical care.

The investigation included collecting information from patients, doctors, safety advocates, policymakers, industry experts, and others. The findings indicated that many dialysis treatment settings are unsanitary—many lapses in care were discovered. To make matters worse, the government has withheld data about the performance of these clinics from the patients who are making decisions about where to seek their treatment.

An important fact underlying all of this is that two corporate chains currently dominate the dialysis-care system in the US— cumulatively making $2 billion in operating profits a year. The profit-driven care flips the medical process on its head, with results being measured by quantity instead of quality of care. For dialysis patients, the more drugs provided to the individual makes the companies money in drug sales, while increased oversight of the process by doctors and nurses limits profit. As a results, patients are often set on risky drug-filled treatment plans without the necessary oversight to ensure all is conducted safely. On top of that, the ProPublica data revealed treatment that was often riddled with incompetence, doctor error, and dangerous care standards.

Continue reading "Dialysis Investigation Reveals Troubling Medical Care For U.S. Patients" »

Virtually all patients will undergo some sort of diagnostic imaging during their hospital stays—these tests involve x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans.

A new story by ABC News reminds patients that while these tests are common-place, it is important for patients to remember that dangers associated with these procedures. In fact, the story explains that it is also important for medical professionals themselves to remember the seriousness of these exams.

The importance of these tests cannot be understated, as they are used to help doctors determine exactly what medical problems a patient may be experiencing. Their value unfortunately also means that they are ripe for costly errors. Experts in the field explain that medical problems stemming from x-rays , MRIs, and other imaging comes from communication breakdown between professionals and errors by doctors rather than problems with the scans themselves. For example, there are countless examples of diagnoses that are missed because of misread medical images.

Also, at times there remains a disconnect between a referring doctor and the radiologist trained to review the results of these exams. When this happens, results are often not reviewed in a timely manner, and in the worst case, the patient never learns about severe medical problems from which they suffer.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti understand the importance of medical tests. It is vital for all patients to ensure that they receive these exams in a timely and safe way. At the same time, it is vital for all medical professionals to use these exams in a proper way and interpret the results in a professional, expert manner. Too often problems in the use and review of the test results lead to additional pain, suffering, and even death to the victims. If you are someone you know may have been affected by this type of medical error, please contact a medical malpractice lawyer to learn about your legal rights.

Please Click Here to read more about the important medical issues related to medical image testing.

Justice Daily News Flash reported last week on an example of an obvious doctor mistake. An investigation was launched by the state department of health following surgical mistake at a Rhode Island hospital.

A patient underwent surgery at the local hospital earlier this summer. Following the procedure, diagnostic imaging revealed that part of a drill bit had been left inside the patient’s body in the operation. Luckily, the drill was removed the next day, and the negligent surgeon and employees were suspended. In many cases, including many reported on this blog, failure to remove all equipment following surgery involves severe pain and medical complications for the patient.

All doctors and other medical professionals are typically required to abide by very specific procedures in surgical operations to avoid this type of mistake. All equipment and supplies used in medical procedures (specifically those in surgeries) need to be accounted for before the procedure is completed. Failure to abide by this logical check-list style safety procedure is an obvious breach of care.

Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have devoted decades to helping the victims of all sorts of medical mistakes. The types of hospitals errors vary in many ways. At times the mix-up is obvious to anyone—like leaving a device in a patient as happened in this case. However, in most cases the doctor error involves a more complicated series of deviations from that standard of care that a reasonable doctor would provide in the circumstances. To understand whether that deviation occurred in most circumstances requires investigation of previous cases and doctor actions as well as discussions with experts who understand what care should be provided.

Any time that you have had complications following medical care, please contact a medical malpractice attorney to share your story. In that way you can learn what possible legal options exist and then make a decision about how to proceed.

The Toronto Sun reported late last week on a tragic hospital mistake that may have extremely damaging consequences for the patient.

The 65- year old victim visited her doctor in February to receive an annual mammogram. The initial results indicated bad news—two lumps were discovered. A second follow-up mammogram revealed even more troubling results, three more lumps were found. It was at that point, in early April, that she received a biopsy with the results to be sent to her doctor within three weeks.

She had not received any word for four weeks at which point she called her doctor’s office. During the call the medical secretary at first said that she didn’t have the results but then said, “wait, I have it, everything is OK.”

Unfortunately, everything was not OK. In fact, the doctor never did receive the biopsy results. Eventually, over six months after the first mammogram, the victim discovered that her doctor had never gotten the test results in any form.

The delay meant that was that precious time was lost in treating the breast cancer. Her chemotherapy is now just beginning, whereas it would have actually been completed already if the test results had been timely delivered. Consequently, one of the patient’s breast will likely be removed, something that may have been avoided if treatment began earlier. The advancement of the cancer meant that the mastectomy was likely the only available treatment option.

The victimized patient in this case shared some words that our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin and Perconti know all too well. She explained, “They (health professionals) hold our lives in their hands. We trust them the same as we trust the anaesthetist when we have an operation.”

It is that trust that must be respected by all those involved in the medical care process—from the surgeon to the doctor’s office secretarial staff. There is no excuse for paperwork errors that cause severe complications in patient treatment. If you have ever fallen victim to one of these mistakes, contact a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.

Much recent discussion has involved the risks that new doctors, known as “residents,” pose to the patients in their care. Recent research has shown that medical errors increase when these doctors-in-training begin working at hospitals for the first time. This “July Effect” has now been conclusively shown to cause harm to hospitals patients—particularly when it comes to medication dosage.

In addition to the increased medical mistakes caused by the learning curve, problems also arise when these new doctors are asked to work long hours. For years, a staple of new doctor residency has been the bone-breaking shifts that each are required to work, occasionally 24 hours at a time. These shifts, of course, have led to sleep-deprived doctors and spikes in the medical errors that they commit. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have long suggested that there is no excuse for working conditions that compromise patient care. The problem simply must be fixed.

Fortunately, another step has recently been taken to help solve the overworking resident problem. The Associated Press reported this week that the Chicago-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education officially announced on Tuesday that new rules have been approved to shorten resident work hours. Those rules had been proposed early in the summer, and now are set to become implemented next July.

Specifically, the new rules will decrease the maximum work shift for first-year residents. They will drop to 16 hours a day from 24 hours. Also, residents will let patients know that they are being supervised by more experienced physicians. The overall weekly hour limit remains unchanged at 800 per week, but “strategic napping” is strongly encouraged.

The CEO of the Council reported that the changes are hoped to improve patient safety and provide a humanistic learning environment for the resident doctors.

A bizarre hospital mistake caused the suffering of two different families following a tragic death last weekend. The Modesto Bee reported on the mix-up caused by the Emanuel Medical Center.

Last week, Shawn Barlow a 40-year old deputy district attorney died from cardiac arrest in his home. He was brought to the local hospital following the death. The medical professionals at the facility placed a call to what they thought was the next-of-kin to the deceased man to ask if the family would like to donate Mr. Barlow’s organs.

However, instead of calling the family of Shawn Barlow, the California Donor Network actually placed a middle-of-the-night call to Autumn Barlow Garcia, the sister of another man, 41 year old Shuan Barlow. The hospital had given the network the information to ask Autumn for permission to take her brother’s organs. Of course, in reality Autumn brother was alive, but she was not aware of any mistake. In fact, Autum’s own father had died of cardiac arrest at age 36 and her grandfather of the same problem at age 38, so they assumed that it was possible that their own brother had suffered a similar fate. It wasn’t until the family frantically called Shuan’s house and got him to pick up in the early morning that they realized that he was alive.

Apparently the mistake was made sometime in 2005, when the hospital switched to a different computer system. Beyond that, officials do not know what specifically happened which led to the error

As this example indicates, hospitals are in the unique position to inflict severe trauma on many lives when they make mistakes. Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have decades of experience fighting for the families who have suffered at the hands of all types of medical errors. It is vital that these medical facilities are held responsible for all of their conduct, from the critical medical care to the organization of their record keeping.

It is imperative for all hospital professionals to keep a close eye on germ control in the facility. We have often discussed preventable hospital sicknesses that many patients get after they arrive at the hospital to receive treatment for some other ailment.

New reporting from the Associated Press and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association explains another facet of the problem which places patients at increased risk for medical complications. More than half of resident doctors (doctors-in-training) in a recent survey explain that they have shown up to work while they themselves were sick—over a third have done it more than once.

Reasons for working while sick vary. Some doctors explained that they did not have time to find a replacement while seeing a doctor for their own illness. Others thought that they didn’t believe the cost of finding a replacement was worth the risk.

Another factor may be the competitive nature of hospital residency programs. Many residents work up to 80 hours a week and up to 24 hour in a single day. There is also pressure for residents to be perceived as hard workers, willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Yet, it does not take much explanation to understand the huge risk that doctors take when they bring germs around already sick patients. The CEO of doctor training schools explained that “doctors should recognize that if they’re sick, their patients’ would be better served by having another doctor take care of them.

Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti remain committed to helping patients who suffer at the hands of doctors, like some alluded to here, who cause them increase pain and suffering following medical errors. With many patients’ health walking a tightrope, it is imperative that doctors take no unnecessary steps that may tip the vulnerable patient’s health in the wrong direction—like bringing in new germs to the hospital when they are sick themselves.

A heartbreaking story about a medical error that took the life of a 7-month old baby is being reported at KTLA News.

Tressel was the only child for Emilie and Scott Meinardi. Since birth, Tressel had heart issues; however, they knew that with surgery, the issues could be corrected. Last week the scheduled surgery date finally arrived, and the family headed to Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital for the operation.

Tragically, Tressel would not make it out of the facility.

In the middle of the procedure, a technician made a terrible medical mistake. During the open-heart surgery, instead of flushing the baby’s system with saline, the medical staff member used alcohol. Of course, sending alcohol into the fragile baby’s body instead of the sterile saline solution had devastating effects on the child, eventually leading to Tressel’s death.

The medical error is similar to the one we reported on last week involving the baby who was accidentally given morphine. In addition we wrote recently about the problem with hospital tube manufacturing that makes these types of mistakes all too common. Hospitals, doctors, and manufacturers of these devices need to take a close look at these errors, understand exactly how to prevent them in the future, and ensure that no other patient falls victim.

Words cannot describe the devastation that family and friends suffer upon learning that a medical mistake took the life of their loved one—the pain is only compounded when an innocent child is lost. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have worked with families involved in these tragedies for decades. We offer sincere condolences to all those sufferings from this hospital mistake.

This week the Houston Chronicle discussed an unfortunate hospital mistake that led to additional suffering for an already devastated family.

Amy Ramos was five months pregnant when she began have physical problems related to the pregnancy. She rushed to the hospital only to discover that the fetus was without a heartbeat. There was nothing that could be done to save the child. Mrs. Ramos was forced to undergo a surgical pregnancy the next day to remove the fetus. Amy and her husband Richard held a funeral service three days later with what they thought were the remains of their five month old fetus.

However, shortly after the service, the hospital discovered that they had never given the proper remains to the funeral home. Instead, an unidentified big toe was actually delivered and placed into what the family thought was the burial container.

Of course, news of the mix up only further agonized the grieving couple. The burial container had to be exhumed. The couple was then forced to have another service three days later with the proper remains, undergoing the painful process for the second time.

Patients and their families place immense trust in hospital employees to handle the most delicate and important parts of their lives. Besides quality health care, these medical facilities should also be held to a basic standard of responsible administration of affairs following tragic deaths. No family should have to endure the pain felt at losing an expected child. It is especially unconscionable for the suffering family to have their grieving processes upended by this careless hospital error.

Please contact our medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti any time that you have suffered at the hands of negligent conduct by hospitals aides, nurses, doctors, staff, or administrators. We are committed to putting our decades of legal experience in this area to ensure that your rights are protected.

The USA Today recently reported on a loophole in the regulatory system of many states that allows nurses convicted of a variety of negligent, abusive, and illegal behavior to continue working long after their conduct is discovered.

The loophole is created by the compact that currently exists between 24 states throughout the country. This ten-year old agreement is intended to allow nurses to move and work in critical areas across the country in need of their skills. Any nurse with a license in one member state is allowed to travel and work in any other.

However, there is no central licensing authority between the 24 states. In that way, the supervision and policing efforts of the entire compact is left to each individual state. Member states simply agree to let in any other member-state nurse without checking their history. That means that nurses with any number of negligent and abusive past actions, like forgotting to report changes in condition, missing tests, and stealing medication and other errors are able to skip out on the consequences and continue practicing nursing by moving to another member state.

Genell Lee, head of Alabama’s nursing board (a non-compact state) suggested that the compact allows one state’s accountability errors to be compounded, harming patients across the country. Records reveal that very few visiting nurses are ever disciplined by other states, with three states reporting only thee such citations in the last decade.

A California study highlights the problem. Officials in that state discovered that 3,500 nurses in the state had disciplinary actions in other states but had retained clean records in California. Current nurse Danya Hickman is an example of the problem. Ms. Hickman moved to California after her Texas license was revoked for giving a patient undiluted vitamin K too quickly, resulting in the patient’s death. She worked for several months in California and currently is a critical-care nurse in Iowa.

The investigation revealed countless other examples of bad nurses allowed to continue to practice in other states, placing patients across the country at risk for medical error. Alma Rice, for example, was able to work in several states for over seven years even after being found a threat to patients. Ultimately she was able to steal drugs from three different hospitals in three different states, collecting felony convictions in each state, before finally being stopped.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti share all medical patients concern about the quality of the care they are provided at hospitals across the country. Medical care is only as good as the individuals who provide it. Unless states adequately monitor the records of those making critical medical decisions, patients will continue to suffer the harm of negligent medical care that could have been prevented.

Click Here to read more about the investigation into bad nurses.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported on the settlement of a medical negligence case which alleged violation of state law by the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The hospital was charged with overcrowding babies in its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), failing to comply with state law that mandates specific bed spacing and maximum capacities. The lawsuit was filed by two former nurses in the NICU at the Medical Center, Donald Raymer and Michael Grosche.

Specifically, over an eight year period from 1997 to 2005, the Medical Center sought reimbursement from Illinois Medicaid for care provided when the overcrowding occurred. The Attorney General explained that the practice put ill babies at extreme risk of infection in “absolutely terrifying” conditions.

Luckily for all future babies who need emergency care at the hospital, since the lawsuit the Medical Center has expanded to include a properly sized neonatal intensive care unit. As another positive benefit from the suit, the majority of that settlement ($5.2 million) will be sent to nearby clinics and hospitals to provide services to young and new mothers including well-being classes and postpartum depression care.

The disturbing situation at the University of Chicago Medical Center is just one example of the corners cut by many medical service providers when they become more worried about saving money than providing the necessary care to save the lives of the patients in their care. Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti have decades of experience fighting for patients who were given inadequate medical care by facilities looking at the budget at the expense of emergency healthcare.

Unfortunately inadequate medical care is given at hospitals every day. Do not wait to fight for your right for proper treatment. If you suspect you’ve been a victim of negligent care, be sure to contact a medical malpractice attorney in the area.

According to a recent report by ABC News, researchers at the University of California at San Diego have found that the rate of medication errors increase in July at teaching hospitals throughout the country. This spike coincides with the arrival of new medical residents who are just beginning their clinical training. The “July Effect” has always been talked about, but the new study links a 10 % increase in medication errors with these changes in personnel.

An experienced physician cited in the article was not surprised by the study’s findings. He attributes these often-fatal medical malpractice mistakes to the fact that residents are inexperienced in caring for patients and are in the process of trying to learn a new system and new set of procedures. Many medical residents are adjusting to longer shifts and face sleep-deprivation. A Boston Globe article from October 2009 linked less sleep to more complications and noted that the rate of complications when a doctor had less than six hours of sleep was 2.8% higher than when a doctor had more than 6 hours of sleep before a procedure. A Mayo Clinic study in the September 23, 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association mirrored these results, noting that residents who were sleep-deprived were more likely to perform a medical error.

In order to avoid the “July Effect” hospitals and residency program directors must raise awareness surrounding the issues of medical and medication errors and work with residents to prevent them from happening. Program directors should stress the importance of having new residents ask senior residents or attendings for help if there is an issue they are unsure of. Programs should also work with new residents to help them manage their sleep and new workload. The ABC article also notes the implementation of new software that checks for prescription errors may help to quell the July Effect in teaching hospitals.

To read more about the new study on medication errors follow the link.

A Medical Center is investigating after a child wrongfully died in their care following an organ transplant. The two-year old’s death may have possibly been the result of an accidental overdose of the blood thinner heparin. They recently released a statement declaring that they were investigating the death after an apparent overdose of a blood thinner. According to Action 3 news, the patient was at the hospital for a multi-organ transplant. After she received the transplant she was readmitted to the hospital with an infection. The virus caused the victim’s kidneys to shut down, requiring her to receive dialysis. It was at the hospital where the 23-month girl died from an infection.

In reality the blood thinner that can be a life-saver during a hospital stay can turn deadly if this blood thinner is given in too high of a dose. According to Omaha.com heprin can cause immediate problems if given in too high of a concentration. This will cause internal bleeding, which can be life-threatening. No one is exactly sure how the overdose occurred. Many of the hospital staff believes the medical malpractice occurred when the setting on the IV pump was not checked properly.

The medical center has already arranged for travel for the family and funeral expenses. Also the medical center is trying to be proactive in sharing this information with other hospitals on what they are trying to do to prevent these occurrences. This hospital is taking important steps to reduce medical error. By sharing new safety implementations with other hospitals, fewer patients will die as a result of a heparin overdose.

The family of a medical negligence victim is blaming nurses at an Illinois hospital for the victim’s death. They believe that these nurses were guilty of a number of negligent acts. The woman was first admitted to the Illinois hospital with signs and symptoms of respiratory infection. The victim had told nurses that she was just getting over an upper respiratory infection. Nurses found that her oxygen level had steadily decreased from 97 percent when she was admitted to 92 percent four days later. The medical malpractice lawsuit then states that the woman began coughing up blood and was too fatigued to perform physical therapy. She constantly complained of feeling ill and developed a temperature. Her husband was repeating her need for aide to the nurses.

However, despite all the indications of lung failure the nursing staff negligently failed to test her blood oxygen saturation and did not report her symptoms to her treating physicians. The Record reported that the nurses were ignoring the symptoms of her Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and additionally failed to treat such disease. It is the duty of the medical personnel to adequately assess all problems. Nurses should be in constant contact with doctors concerning a patient’s health. The victim wrongfully died at Memorial Hospital 18 days after being admitted. The man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit claiming a loss of love, affection companionship, services and support. He has named specific nurses in the compliant and is seeking compensatory damages. If you believe you have been a victim of medical negligence, please contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer. To read more about the medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

All too often the public does not hear about the detrimental effects tort reform has on the hundreds of thousands of victims whom are injured by medical malpractice each year. Tort reform puts a cap on compensation for victims of medical negligence. The Huffington Post points out the specific case of Lisa Gurley. A court found that the severe brain injury suffered at birth by Lisa’s son, Colin, was caused by a doctor’s negligence. Despite this finding, Nebraska tort reform prevented Lisa and her son from being adequately compensated for his injuries. In fact, they were compensated for just a tiny fraction of what it will cost to care for Colin for the remainder of his life. Now, Medicaid and the Nebraska Medically Handicap Children's program pay for all of Colin’s care. It is grossly unfair that the taxpayers and Colin’s family are paying the astronomical cost of caring for a severely handicapped child while the doctor and the insurance company paid minimally for the medical negligence. The Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin and Perconti are working to protect the rights of catastrophically injured children like Colin and to ensure that there continue to be adequate remedies for injured victims of medical negligence.

A man who developed an infection after donating blood at a hospital has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit. In the past 10 years, the 43 year old had regularly donated his O-positive type blood for free at the blood center. However, in April 2009 he came down with a debilitating infection. When he could no longer afford the hospital expenses anymore, he was denied care. The man filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that they took his blood and backed out of a promise to take care of him if anything happened to him by virtue of his donations. The medical malpractice furthermore accuses the hospital of being unjustly enriched by taking his blood under false pretenses and selling it. The director of communications for the hospital stated that there is a possibility that donors may get infections from sources unrelated to a blood donation. To look further into the allegations, please click the link.

Patients are contending that a hospital is liable for deaths after Hurricane Katrina because the hospital failed to adequately prepare for the disaster. This is the first trial that accuses a health-care institution of general negligence. Medical malpractice lawyers for the family hope to convince the jury that executives at the hospital were aware that generators were inadequate and deliberately put off costly emergency preparedness improvements. A 73-year-old victim wrongfully died after generators at the hospital failed. The fact that the case is labeled a negligence trial greatly affects the damages because Louisiana caps medical malpractice awards at $500,000 but does not impose caps in negligence trials. Hospitals must be ready for emergencies in order to avoid medical error. To read about the upcoming trial, please check out the link.

The daughter of a woman who died last year has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital claiming that hospital negligence caused her mother’s wrongful death. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the county “carelessly and negligently managed the care of” the victim which caused her wrongful death. The woman was checked into hospital exhibiting suicidal behavior. The woman was not checked for approximately 90 minutes when she was found slouched over without a pulse and not breathing. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims that the daughter was deprived of a kind and loving mother. To read more about the medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.