The birth of a child is the culmination of not only the past nine or so months of the parents’ lives, but also of their loved ones. They await and pray for the healthy birth of the new born and when it happens, the whole family rejoices. But if the medical staff commits a medical mistake that puts the newborn and mother at risk, confusion and tragedy can often be the result.
Louisiana residents may have watched the show Judge Hatchett, but probably were not aware that the TV judge’s son was expecting a child with his wife. The expecting mother delivered a healthy son through a c-section and was wheeled out of the operating room around half an hour later, where she enjoyed some bonding time with her baby. According to court documents, however, within a couple of hours there were signs of a problem as urine tinged with blood began appearing in her catheter and the doctor was notified of active internal bleeding before the end of the day. She was taken into surgery around midnight, where court documents claim surgery revealed around 3 liters of blood in her abdomen.
Unfortunately, she did not survive the internal bleeding, and died around 12 hours after she gave birth. Her family has sued the hospital where she gave birth for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress as a result of the death of the healthy and vibrant woman. Among other reasons listen in the lawsuit, it also states that there was a failure to get her back into surgery in a timely manner.
The loss of a loved one, especially after such a momentous occasion, can be devastating for family members. As they struggle to come to terms with their loss, it is possible they don’t receive any answers from hospitals as the medical staff often hesitates to release information about the medical mistakes that caused the tragedy. A wrongful death lawsuit can be one way to get the answers required for emotional closure.
Source: Boston Herald, “TV Judge Glenda Hatchett’s son suing hospital over alleged wrongful death of his wife who died hours after giving birth,” May 13, 2017
