Did hospital negligence lead to heart transplant patient’s death?

A serious surgical procedure such as a heart transplant can be frightening for anyone. Those in Louisiana undergoing such a procedure has the right to assume they will receive the best care possible, thus easing their mind a little at such a stressful time. In fact, unfortunately, a hospital’s level of care is not always acceptable, and sometimes, hospital negligence results in patient death.

A woman in another state recently filed a lawsuit against a hospital after her husband died following a heart transplant performed there two years ago. She was motivated to pursue the lawsuit after she received an anonymous letter claiming that the surgeon who had performed the procedure had been allowed to continue operating even after the hospital had been warned of his alleged incompetence.  In the lawsuit, the widow also cites a detailed investigation of the hospital by local reporters in which several disturbing points were revealed, including a high rate of deaths among heart transplant patients in the hospital’s heart program and concerns about the competency of the program’s lead surgeon.

In the lawsuit, the woman alleges that the doctors and nurses in charge of her husband’s care during his transplant made mistakes that led to his death one week following the surgery. The complaint also claims the hospital was negligent in allowing the lead surgeon to operate when others had questioned his competence. In addition, it questions the way in which the hospital promotes its heart transplant program. Although the hospital and the lead surgeon declined to comment on this particular lawsuit, they had previously issued statements defending the heart program and the patient care they provide, explaining the many factors with heart patients that can result in complications following transplants.

Louisiana residents who have experienced the loss of a loved one know that a sad and challenging time inevitably follows. If death has possibly resulted from hospital negligence, grieving family members likely experience additional challenges knowing action may have been taken to prevent the death. Experienced medical malpractice attorneys are available to help people in such situations find answers and seek compensation for their losses.