A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a 70-year-old woman claims medical mistakes and an alleged cover up caused her wrongful death.

Diane Stewart died from a bowel obstruction after knee replacement surgery at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA.  Stewart got into a car accident over 40 years ago that crushed her knees.  Arthritis eventually made it impossible to walk, and she was referred to Dr. Stuart Goodman, a professor of orthopedic surgery.

Wrongful death lawyers are often hired when events like this happen because they will work to get their clients a settlement for pain and suffering remaining family may endure.  Even if a medical mistake does not cause wrongful death, a wrongful death lawyer or medical malpractice attorney can help you get a financial settlement to help you pay for current and future medical bills.

We believe that doctors and hospitals should be held responsible for their mistakes just as anyone else should be held responsible for a mistake that causes injury or wrongful death.  Their medical mistakes sometimes leave permanent damage or cause wrongful death.

After Stewart went to her doctor for a double knee replacement surgery on March 30, 2007, she complained of abdominal pain two days later.  The family’s wrongful death lawsuit claims that she was suffering from a blocked small intestine, treatable with a nasogastric (nasal) tube inserted to relieve pressure or other surgery.

Department of Health Services were told by a nurse that she phoned two doctors asking them to order insertion of the tube, but they declined.  The nurse also said she asked a doctor to come see Stewart, but that was refused as well.  Stewart died a few days later because of a blocked intestine.

The wrongful death lawsuit also claims Stanford University Medical tried to cover up Stewart’s wrongful death by deleting parts of her medical file.  A week after Stewart died, nurses made a series of “late entries” to her file found by state investigators.

We trust hospitals to treat our injuries when we have to make scheduled or unexpected visits.  Regardless of the reason, it is the responsibility of doctors and nurses to treat injuries correctly so they do not become worse or fatal.

Doctors are human like anyone else, so medical mistakes are inevitable.  If a medical mistake does cause wrongful death, a wrongful death lawyer can give you the advice you need for your case.

Please contact us for a free consultation with an experienced wrongful death lawyer — we speak both English and Spanish — at (800) 655-6585.  Click here and you may also submit your case for a Free Review.  No fee if no recovery.

About Michael Pines

Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.