A New York jury has returned a plaintiff's verdict against NYC Health + Hospitals in a wrongful death case involving a 23-year-old woman who died after receiving inadequate care at Woodhull Hospital's emergency room in February 2020. The verdict, reached after less than two hours of deliberation, brings attention to the consequences of delayed diagnosis and treatment, particularly for patients in public hospitals that serve low-income and minority communities.
The lawsuit, litigated by Kevin Lee and Rikki Dascal of Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm, centered on a 12-hour gap between the woman's admission and the start of insulin treatment for diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition. Despite lab results indicating the condition, hospital physicians treated only pancreatitis and failed to address the underlying diabetic ketoacidosis. During cross-examination, the treating physician conceded that the delay fell below an acceptable standard of care. By the time insulin was administered, the wrong type was given, and the woman's condition worsened; she died two and a half weeks later.
Physician experts from Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins Medical School testified that the 12-hour delay significantly reduced her chance of survival. The hospital argued that a busy emergency room contributed to the delay, but the jury rejected that defense. The firm's wrongful death lawyers emphasized that the outcome underscores the need for consistent treatment standards regardless of a hospital's location or patient population. Research shows that low-income and minority patients often face longer emergency room wait times and lower quality care, and this case highlights the real-world impact of such disparities.
The verdict adds to the firm's record in holding public and private medical providers accountable for negligence. For over five decades, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm has represented patients and families harmed by delayed diagnoses and treatment failures at hospitals throughout New York City.
