HUNTINGTON – A Wayne County widower alleges the negligence of a Huntington medical facility contributed to the death of his wife.
Howard D. Workman, administrator of the estate of Patricia Dale Workman, deceased filed a complaint in Cabell Circuit Court against St. Mary's Medical Center Inc. alleging negligence.
The suit states Patricia Dale Workman was taken to the defendant's emergency room on May 15, 2017, with difficulty breathing and was transferred to the medical intensive care unit. The suit states another medical center was consulted and it was agreed that Patricia Dale Workman would be transferred for a possible expedited aortic valve replacement procedure that day.
The suit states emergency medical services arrived on to transfer the decedent but during the transfer, the decedent's respiratory treatment was stopped. The suit states she went into cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead. The suit states the cause of her death was later confirmed as hypoxia due to improper reconnection of respiratory equipment.
The suit states the defendant's employees failed to remove a piece of equipment from the ventilator tubing prior to the attempted transfer, causing oxygen to escape and deprivation of oxygen for at least nine minutes.
The plaintiff is seeking all reasonable sums due, attorney fees and court costs. The plaintiff is represented by Bert Ketchum of Greene, Ketchum, Farrell, Bailey & Tweel LLP in Huntington.
The case has been assigned to Judge Christopher D. Chiles.
Cabell Circuit Court Case number 19-C-126