A woman who arrived in the emergency room of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem was found in cardiac arrest two hours later. CPR was begun and she was resuscitated, only to die two days later in an intensive care unit. According to the MyNet report, a lawsuit has been filed against the hospital alleging “a series of blunders led to her death” in the case which occurred about 2.5 years ago.

The woman arrived in the emergency room in an ambulance, vomiting and with a fever and hypertensive (high blood pressure). Two hours later she was found pulseless and CPR and advanced resuscitation efforts began. The woman was married and a mother. She did suffer from a number of underlying chronic medical conditions as well. The report adds that on that same day she had gone to another hospital. When she returned home she did not feel well. Her children summoned an ambulance to take her to the hospital again. In the ambulance an IV was established and her vitals were assessed, reportedly they were not normal. She arrived at Shaare Zedek a short time later. She complained of pains and her body temperature was noticeably low. Two hours later she was pulseless.

The family has decided to move ahead with a lawsuit, represented by attorney Yossi Toledano. The lawsuit stipulates during the first two critical hours nothing was done for her, leading to her collapse. The suit adds the medical records show negligence.

There were no dates showing doctors checking the patient, early CPR and more. Regarding the treatment of the individual, the family claims a long serious of failures that came into play regarding basic medical procedures that should have been done but they were not carried out. The family maintains these failures and negligence compel them to view the hospital as being responsible for her death and they are now seeking NIS 2.5 million in compensation.

The MyNet report adds the hospital rejected the allegations, citing there was no autopsy performed and therefore the cause of death cannot be known with absolute certainty. The hospital adds that even if the events transpired differently, the cardiac arrest and subsequent death two days later were unavoidable.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)