Hospital Must Pay $1 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

The Hutchison Regional Medical Center lost a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a 73-year-old man who died during treatment for an upset stomach and now must pay $1.08 million in damages to the family of the deceased man.

The Hutchinson News reports that the federal court jury found the Kansas hospital guilty of medical negligence after an unsupervised licensed practical nurse (LPN) inserted a nasal gastric tube into the man as part of treatment for his upset stomach.

The attempt to insert the gastric tube caused the man to vomit and he inhaled the vomit into his lungs, according to the Hutchinson News. Hospital staff allegedly failed to quickly flush out the vomit from the man's airway with suction equipment. He died five days later of brain damage.

The suit alleged that an unsupervised LPN performed the procedure, when a registered nurse or specially trained LPN should have done it.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by medical negligence, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation today and to find out if a medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help you.

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