Lawsuit Alleges Piedmont Healthcare Failed To Properly Train Staff, Leading To Avoidable Death

AUGUSTA, Ga. - May 28, 2024 - PRLog -- A new lawsuit filed in Richmond County State Court alleges that negligence by Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. led to the easily avoidable death of Dorothy Crawford after a routine thyroidectomy at Piedmont Augusta Hospital.

The complaint, filed by attorneys Daniel E. Holloway and Jacob Jackson, claims that Piedmont Healthcare did not ensure its nurses were properly trained to respond when Dorothy began showing signs of severe respiratory distress hours after surgery on May 10, 2022.

According to an affidavit by surgeon Dr. Peter Mowschenson, if a hospital's administration chooses to offer a type of surgery, the administration must ensure its staff are trained, instructed, and equipped to properly handle the known post-operative complications that can kill the patient in minutes.

Dorothy Crawford underwent a thyroidectomy at Piedmont Augusta Hospital. While recovering in the hospital, hours after the surgery, Crawford developed a post-operative hematoma that compressed her windpipe, causing her to suffocate.

According to Mowschenson, such a post-operative hematoma is a well-known complication. Fortunately, serious harm is easily avoided: At the first sign of severe respiratory distress, the nurses need only snip the sutures at the incision site on the skin of the neck. Doing so opens a route for the accumulating blood to escape —instead of compressing the windpipe.

The lawsuit alleges, however, that Piedmont Healthcare failed to ensure its nurses were properly trained, instructed, and prepared. The complaint alleges that despite calls for help from Dorothy's family, the nurses failed to take the critical step of cutting the sutures at the incision site on her neck. By the time physicians arrived, Dorothy had already suffered catastrophic brain injury.

"This did not have to happen," said Daniel Holloway. "It is not too much to expect that a hospital will prepare its staff to handle complications that are well-known, potentially catastrophic, and require a response within minutes."

Piedmont Healthcare has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

Daniel E. Holloway has over 20 years' experience in complex litigation. He represents clients in business disputes and clients who have suffered injury from the negligence or misconduct of others. Contact him at www.deh-law.com or at dan@deh-law.com.