Lawsuit claims doctor to blame for 2009 death

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 Updated: 10:23 PM Mar. 11, 201100

Lawsuit claims doctor to blame for 2009 death

Harris of Winchester Dialysis Center is accused of medical negligence

By Alex Bridges-abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- A doctor at a local dialysis center caused a Middletown woman's death in 2009, a lawsuit claims.

A complaint filed Thursday in Winchester Circuit Court accuses Dr. Jeffrey P. Harris and the DaVita Winchester Dialysis Center of medical negligence and wrongful death.
Thomas W. Farrington filed the complaint on behalf of Kim Begnaud, identified as a personal representative of the estate of the decedent, Barbara Anne Christian.

Begnaud, of Middletown, seeks a $2 million judgment against the defendants in damages for pecuniary loss, medical expenses, loss of services and for grief, sorrow and suffering.

The dialysis center, at 2301 Valor Drive, Winchester, began providing care to Christian on or before Feb. 25, 2009, according to the complaint. Christian was receiving medical care for, among other issues, her end-stage renal failure, the complaint states.
Treatment included evaluations, testing, screening, medications, advice, necessary referrals and dialysis, according to the complaint.

Christian was receiving dialysis services at the center on Feb. 25, 2009, when she went into cardiac arrest, the complaint states.

The patient was resuscitated, intubated and then taken to the Winchester Medical Center emergency room.

However, Christian remained unresponsive and died March 6, 2009, as a result of her cardiac arrest and associated complications, according to the complaint.

The plaintiff claims DaVita and Harris "were negligent and deviated from the standard of care."

The defendants' negligence includes a failure to ensure Christian received proper examinations, monitoring, medications and instructions regarding the care and treatment of her medical conditions.

The defendants showed a negligent failure "to timely and properly evaluate Ms. Christian's condition prior to proceeding with dialysis on Feb. 25, 2009."

The defendants failed to properly monitor the patient while she was undergoing dialysis and did not treat her evolving condition and subsequent cardiac arrest, the complaint states.

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/03/lawsuit-claims-doctor-to-blame-for-2009-death.php