Man mysteriously dies, widow files medical malpractice suit

An out-of-state man died after having gone through a non-emergency procedure and many medical experts are still deciding what killed him. Although the man has been laid to rest after his sudden death in 2013, his heart is at the center of a contentious medical malpractice case that was filed in 2015. The heart has already been to three different states and covered over 1,000 miles in order to be studied by different pathologists. Maryland residents who have had a loved one die a mysterious death may not know that they are legally entitled to file a medical malpractice suit against the medical professional responsible.

The pathologists have yet to agree on what precisely killed the man. He had a non-emergency procedure performed in order to drain liquid that had accumulated in his chest. However, whether that procedure should have even been recommended is under debate, as the man died three hours afterward.

Besides the question of what precisely killed the man, another surprising facet of the case is that there is a claim that the man’s doctors’ errors were attributed to, in part, “financial incentives” that lay between the cardiology group and the hospital. The lawsuit claims that the hospital gave the doctors money or perks to admit more patients or perform more procedures. This is against federal and state laws.

Maryland medical patients may often be at risk when doctors act negligently during treatments or surgeries. Substandard medical care causes countless injuries and deaths throughout the U.S. Victims who survive their injuries, or family members of those who die, often seek compensation for damages by filing medical malpractice claims in civil court. No matter the cause, victims or victims’ families are entitled to seek full monetary recovery of any and all losses.

Source: health.wusf.usf.edu, “Malpractice Case against St. Pete Hospital Questions ‘Business Of Medicine’“, Carol Gentry, July 28, 2016