CHARLESTON – The estate of woman accuses Charleston Area Medical Center of negligence resulting in her death.
Donita Straughter, the mother and personal representative of the estate of Sha-La V. Wright, filed her complaint November 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against CAMC.
“The medical malpractice at CAMC in this case is so blatant and egregious it shocks the conscious,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “There is no way this 29-year-old young lady should have died in their emergency room.
diTrapano
“She was left to die without the care that she deserved.”
According to the complaint, emergency responders were dispatched to Wright’s home on March 6, 2023. She reportedly had been feeling sick and had been vomiting. The unit said she was totally unresponsive. She was given oxygen, and her vital signs were reported as normal.
Twenty minutes after the responders arrived at Wright’s home, they arrived with her at CAMC’s General Hospital. But the complaint says no CAMC staff was immediately available to facilitate the transfer of care for Wright. A responder had to walk through the emergency department to locate a nurse to help.
When she was transferred to CAMC care, Wright was removed from her supplemental oxygen and cardiac leads. She had a pulse and was not in cardiac arrest at the time, according to the complaint. It also says CAMC did not have cardiac leads immediately available for her, and she was not placed back on supplemental oxygen.
Eight minutes after she was transferred to CAMC care, a nurse reported Wright had no respiration while on “room air.” Three minutes later, a nurse reported Wright had no pulse and no respiration. A Code Blue was activated, and Wright was resuscitated. She went into arrest two more times and suffered a global hypoxic brain injury.
A brain scan revealed Wright had suffered brain death, and she ultimately was pronounced dead.
The estate accuses CAMC of negligence and vicarious liability. It says CAMC staff deviated from accepted standards of medical care by failing to adequately assess, monitor and treat an unresponsive patient for eight minutes following her transfer.
The estate seeks general damages for sorrow, mental anguish, loss of solace, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice of the decedent, loss of income, services, protection, care and assistance provided by the decedent as well as expenses related to her funeral and burial and the pain and suffering Wright endured before her death.
It also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The estate is being represented by diTrapano and David H. Carriger of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Dr. Richard D. Lindsay and Richard D. Lindsay II of Tabor Lindsay & Associates in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-994
