Patients in North Carolina and across the country who have little medical training often find themselves placing their faith in the decisions and recommendations of their doctors. Unfortunately, doctors are fallible, and a single mistake can have serious consequences for patients. In fact, a family in another state claims that medical malpractice ultimately led to their mother’s death.
The allegations surround the removal of the woman’s kidneys in May 2018. According to reports, doctors allegedly removed both of her kidneys, suspecting that she was suffering from cancer, despite test results that indicated no malignancy. It was ultimately determined after removal that there was cancer.
Following the surgery, the woman was forced to undergo dialysis three times a week. Despite this, her daughter claims that the woman’s potassium levels more than doubled, causing her to go into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, she passed away as a result. Reports indicate that the woman was set to undergo a stress test the week after her death, which is one of the final steps that must be completed before being placed on the national transplant list; one of her daughters had planned to donate a kidney.
The hospital that treated the woman was already facing a medical malpractice lawsuit as a result of the kidney removal prior to her death. It has since issued a statement expressing condolences to the family but declining to otherwise comment on the woman’s case. Many people in North Carolina and across the country trust that the diagnoses given by their doctors are accurate and choose to act on them as advised. Unfortunately, a misdiagnosis can cause a patient needless suffering, ultimately even resulting in one’s death. Victims of such negligence — including surviving family members in the case of a fatality — often choose to seek justice by filing a civil lawsuit against the parties deemed responsible.