Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

medical malpractice

According to Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and a doctor there are being sued for medical negligence and wrongful death.

Details of the Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Janice L. Ross filed a lawsuit saying that the hospital and Dr. David G. Silver acted negligently last year and caused her husband’s death.

The lawsuit states that Silver, who is a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery physician, treated and operate on the 66-year-old patient before his death in 2015.

The complaint calls Dale A. Ross’ injuries catastrophic and says that the hospital, doctor, and several other defendants that haven’t been named yet, should be responsible for funeral expenses, medical expenses, past and future economic losses, and non-economic damages such as companionship.

Dr. Silver sliced Dale Ross’ right ventricle, which caused massive blood loss. Also, Dr. Silver’s operative report did not mention the pericardial drain that was left in Dale’s heart three months earlier. A pericardium is a double-layered sac that surrounds the heart and can become inflamed and build up with fluid.

Ross’ lawsuit states that a pericardial drain was left in her husband’s heart after he had three-vessel coronary artery bypass surgery in July 2015 at CRMC, and the drain began causing infection, which led to fluid buildup in the pericardial sac.

Hospital’s Alleged Involvement in Ross’ Death

According to the lawsuit, the hospital then failed to take into account report that showed the catheter within the fluid buildup during an echocardiogram conducted on Dale Ross on Oct. 12, 2015, 11 months after his bypass surgery.

The hospital also failed to refer Dale to an experienced cardiologist and transfer him to a larger, more comprehensive hospital with staff and facilities more capable of diagnosing and treating the condition.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Silver was contacted on Oct. 13, 2015, the day after Dale Ross went to the Emergency Room, and decided that surgery was not necessary. Dale was discharged the next day and told to see a different doctor the next week.

The lawsuit says that no one attempted to drain the fluid around Dale’s heart, and he was discharged without proper diagnosis and treatment of a life-threatening condition.

Timeline of Dale Ross’ Death

Just two days later, Dale was back in the emergency room coughing, having shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, and had very low blood pressure. He arrived before 10:30 a.m. and blood drawn around then “revealed ominous signs of cardiac distress,” the lawsuit also says.

At around 2:45 p.m., Dale had an echocardiogram done, which confirmed what was noted on the 12th of October. The lawsuit adds that the fluid buildup around his heart was so massive by Oct. 16, 2015, that it showed up on an abdominal ultrasound performed.

Six hours after conclusive clinical signs of the condition, and two days since discovering the large fluid buildup, Dale Ross’ urgent surgery was scheduled for two hours later, at 5:30 p.m., to await Dr. Silver’s chosen anesthesiologist, Dr. Ronald Stevens, even though other trained and qualified anesthesiologists were available earlier, the lawsuit states.

Anesthesia began at 5:15 p.m. Dale Ross’ blood pressure dropped even lower and CPR was performed, but surgery proceeded anyway. At 6:50 p.m. Dale was pronounced dead.

Ross’ wife’s complaint says he was subjected to general anesthesia while medically unstable, and his heart was irreparably damaged during surgery. Dr. Silver’s attorney, Corinne Rutledge, filed an answer to the complaint on Sept. 20 denying all of the claims.

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