Woman Says She Coded After Waiting Four Hours for Treatment
6-13-2016 23:00:00


     STOCKTON, Calif. (CN) – A woman experienced “temporary death” when doctors did not treat her chest pain quickly enough, she claims in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

            Cathy Ruth Ellis filed a pro se lawsuit against the Kaiser Medical Center – Stockton. 
            She claims two Kaiser doctors misdiagnosed her and ignored her chest pain.
            “May 27, 2015 was the worst day of my life. I have never been so afraid. I was forced to stay at a hospital that never gave me care. I was not allowed to see a physician (at Kaiser medical center) even though I was told I would,” Ellis says in her 33-page complaint.
            After being "detained" for four hours, she demanded to be transported in an ambulance to another hospital, according to the complaint.
            It does not describe what allegedly happened to Ellis.
            “I was immediately taken away by ambulance and inside the ambulance I experienced a temporary death. The term the medical officers used was ‘coded,’ then after being in Dameron Hospital I was in full ‘code’ mode,” the complaint states.
            Ellis claims no one called the people on her emergency call list to let them know about her condition.
            She now has esophageal dyskinesia, or esophageal spasms, as well as increased chest pain, larynx damage, and heightened anxiety and fear from reliving the temporary death over again in mind, according to the complaint.
            Ellis wants Kaiser to reimburse her for all medical bills, including all copays, and to compensate her for “ALL (she) ha(s) endured and will continue to endure.” (Emphasis in original.)
            She also wants Kaiser to train employees to recognize conditions like hers so no one else suffers temporary death while in Kaiser care.
STK-CV-UPN-2016-5116