Undiagnosed Pulmonary Blood Clots Killed Mom, Family Claims
4-24-2015 23:45:00
WASHINGTON (CN) - Two hospitals failed to diagnose a woman’s pulmonary embolisms, resulting in her death, her family claims in District of Columbia Superior Court.
Shellie A. Mayrant, widower of Vivien Mayrant and father of their four grown children, sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. and Medstar Washington Hospital Center for medical negligence.
According to the lawsuit, Vivien Mayrant, 57, went to Kaiser on June 19, 2013, for symptoms that included drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, increased thirst and vaginal discharge.
After lab work, she was diagnosed with diabetes and told to go directly to Washington Hospital Center, where she was admitted and treated for two days, then sent home, the complaint says.
“She had remained in the bed throughout most of the time of the admission. She left the floor in a wheelchair,” the complaint states.
While walking to the door of her home, she collapsed, unconscious, it continues. She briefly regained consciousness before being whisked away by ambulance, it continues. CPR was begun in the ambulance and continued for about fifteen minutes at the emergency room before she was declared dead, according to the complaint.
An autopsy revealed the cause was pulmonary emboli in both lungs, the complaint says.
The Myrant family seeks $3 million to $4 million plus interest and costs. They are represented by William P. Lightfoot, Paulette E. Chapman and Kelly J. Fisher of Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot in Washington.
