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Fort Wayne Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer and Attorney Blog

Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice suit filed.

On October 24th, 2008, Dennis DeKoekkoek, a 51 year old man who struggled with obesity during his life was scheduled for a routine colostomy reversal surgery at Pinnacle Hospital in Crown Point Indiana.

Following the procedure, complications arose. Dennis had trouble breathing, bled internally and died six hours after the surgery. At the time, Pinnacle Hospital did not offer any intensive care or emergency services to help in an emergency situation. Dennis was transferred to Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville 5 hours after the surgery. Just one hour after being transferred Dennis died.

The man's widow filed a wrongful death and medical malpractice suit against the hospital and the doctor last week. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor was negligent in performing the operation in a facility that did not offer intensive care or emergency care services. The attending doctor is accused of leaving the hospital and abandoning Dennis immediately after surgery and not responding to phone pages as Dennis' condition deteriorated.

“Dennis was not transferred for five hours after surgery,” the widow's attorney said. “If they (Pinnacle) had no way to stabilize him, they never should have performed surgery on him in the first place.”

In May 2011, a medical review panel found that both the hospital and the doctor deviated from the standard of care in their treatment of DeKoekkoek. It was concluded that their actions contributed to his death. Additionally, the hospital and doctor have a history of questionable care.

Patients and their families need to know in advance that the hospital or doctor that they choose is prepared to deal with a critical or life-threatening situation. It's too late once an emergency occurs.

Learn more about wrongful death here.

If you or a loved one has been affected as a result of a wrongful death, contact the Sweeney Law Firm now to have your case reviewed. The initial consultation is free. If we agree to accept your case, we will handle your case on a contingent fee basis. We only get paid for our services if there is a settlement or recovery of funds.

Read the entire story here.