Hospital sued over man's deadly faint

[brodaiga]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman is suing a hospital for wrongful death because her husband fainted and suffered a fatal injury after helping delivery room staff give her a pain-killing injection.

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Jeanette Passalaqua, 32, filed the suit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc. in San Bernardino County state court last week.

In June 2004, Passalaqua's husband, Steven Passalaqua, was asked by Kaiser staff to hold and steady his wife while an employee inserted an epidural needle into her back, court papers said.

The sight of the needle caused Steven Passalaqua, 33, to faint and he fell backward, striking his head on an aluminum cap molding at the base of the wall.

Jeanette Passalaqua delivered the couple's second child, a boy, later that day. Steven Passalaqua, however, suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of his fall and died two days later, the lawsuit said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages related to Steven Passalaqua's death and to Jeanette Passalaqua's emotional distress at being widowed with two young children.

Because Passalaqua was solicited by Kaiser to assist in the epidural, the lawsuit said, the hospital "owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injuries resulting from his participation."

A spokesman for Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente called the death "a tragic accident."

"Some of the allegations in the lawsuit are simply that -- allegations. The legal process is under way and we should respect that," said Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson.

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[theblastopore]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman is suing a hospital for wrongful death because her husband fainted and suffered a fatal injury after helping delivery room staff give her a pain-killing injection.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jeanette Passalaqua, 32, filed the suit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc. in San Bernardino County state court last week.

In June 2004, Passalaqua's husband, Steven Passalaqua, was asked by Kaiser staff to hold and steady his wife while an employee inserted an epidural needle into her back, court papers said.

The sight of the needle caused Steven Passalaqua, 33, to faint and he fell backward, striking his head on an aluminum cap molding at the base of the wall.

Jeanette Passalaqua delivered the couple's second child, a boy, later that day. Steven Passalaqua, however, suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of his fall and died two days later, the lawsuit said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages related to Steven Passalaqua's death and to Jeanette Passalaqua's emotional distress at being widowed with two young children.

Because Passalaqua was solicited by Kaiser to assist in the epidural, the lawsuit said, the hospital "owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injuries resulting from his participation."

A spokesman for Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente called the death "a tragic accident."

"Some of the allegations in the lawsuit are simply that -- allegations. The legal process is under way and we should respect that," said Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson.

Yah, I read that. Tragic loss. But a lawsuit over that?

 

[abraxas]

hopefully it will get thrown out. but most likely they will get paid off and it will never go to court.

 

[Avalanche21]

Yikes! I'm in a hospital right next to a kaiser building right now!!

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Why was he even in the room? I have been present for the births of three children (one of them my own) and have not seen a spouse, family member, labor attendant (non-hospital staff) allowed to stay in the room during an epidural. I helped two of my friends during their labors and was asked to leave during the epidural. Likewise, when I was in labor and had my epidural, my husband wasn't allowed to stay. My nurse-midwife stood in front of me to hold me steady. I wanted my hubby to stay but was told that it wasn't allowed because the anesthesiologist needed to concentrate on what he was doing and not worry about the reactions/condition of the spouse.

 

[TexasFool]

I new there were men that died from childbirth.

 

[edmadison]

hopefully it will get thrown out. but most likely they will get paid off and it will never go to court.

Not a chance for it to get thrown out. His widow will claim the hospital had a duty of care to him -- especially considering they asked him to participate. Whether this duty existed and then whether it was breached is a question for the jury to decide.

BTW, this is the reason that malpractice cases don't get dismissed. No matter how appropriate the care, the jury decides if standard of care was met.

Ed

 

[riceman04]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman is suing a hospital for wrongful death because her husband fainted and suffered a fatal injury after helping delivery room staff give her a pain-killing injection.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jeanette Passalaqua, 32, filed the suit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc. in San Bernardino County state court last week.

In June 2004, Passalaqua's husband, Steven Passalaqua, was asked by Kaiser staff to hold and steady his wife while an employee inserted an epidural needle into her back, court papers said.

The sight of the needle caused Steven Passalaqua, 33, to faint and he fell backward, striking his head on an aluminum cap molding at the base of the wall.

Jeanette Passalaqua delivered the couple's second child, a boy, later that day. Steven Passalaqua, however, suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of his fall and died two days later, the lawsuit said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages related to Steven Passalaqua's death and to Jeanette Passalaqua's emotional distress at being widowed with two young children.

Because Passalaqua was solicited by Kaiser to assist in the epidural, the lawsuit said, the hospital "owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injuries resulting from his participation."

A spokesman for Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente called the death "a tragic accident."

"Some of the allegations in the lawsuit are simply that -- allegations. The legal process is under way and we should respect that," said Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson.

Kaiser is an HMO!!! She will not get much if anything at all.
GOVT (inclu. cali state govt) loves Kaiser too much.

Kaiser sucks!!! Sorry....but they do

 

[ohsocrafty22]

Not a chance for it to get thrown out. His widow will claim the hospital had a duty of care to him -- especially considering they asked him to participate. Whether this duty existed and then whether it was breached is a question for the jury to decide.

BTW, this is the reason that malpractice cases don't get dismissed. No matter how appropriate the care, the jury decides if standard of care was met.

Ed

Interesting...malpractices cases don't get dismissed? According the most recent numbers from the AMA, 80% percent of malpractice lawsuits that go to a jury get thrown out as unfounded.

 

[ILLGetit1Day]

I new there were men that died from childbirth.

LOL

 

[edmadison]

Interesting...malpractices cases don't get dismissed? According the most recent numbers from the AMA, 80% percent of malpractice lawsuits that go to a jury get thrown out as unfounded.

.

Jury's don't "throw out" lawsuits, they rule for for the plaintiff or defendant (or they hang). Judges throw out suits. Depending on the timing, a judge can throw out a case before, during or after a trail. The burden is very steep for a judge to do this and if there is a dispute as to a question of fact, including weighing expert opinion or credibility, the jury, not the judge makes the determination.

As far as "the most recent numbers from the AMA", the number you are looking for is actually 86.2% and this is not for dismissals, it is for defendant verdicts. There is a big difference here. Dismissal usually happens prior to the trail and thus saves the parties much money (about 70,000 in legal costs).

Ed