A deceased woman’s family is suing an Ohio hospital for allegedly propping up the patient to “look alive” after a failed routine surgery.
According to a new lawsuit, the patient, only publicly identified as a 65-year-old woman, was said to be in “good health” when she was admitted into Adena Health System in Chillicothe for what was supposed to be a routine heart catheterization.
However, the woman’s family says that when she walked into the facility, she never left. As reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian, Dr. Jarrod Betz, a cardiologist who has previously faced questions over his credentials, reportedly cut an artery during the supposed routine procedure. While Dr. Betz believed the situation was under control, staff later discovered that the patient was still bleeding while in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).
The routine surgery was then taken over by a second cardiologist, Dr. Atiq Rehman, who has been called into question as well. Reportedly, medical records show that after the woman was operated on by Dr. Betz, she was taken back into surgery by Dr. Rehman, and under his care she later died.
Raising more eyebrows, there are additional discrepancies regarding the patient’s time of death. Medical records reportedly show that she died at 1:00 p.m., while the death certificate indicates a time of death of 3:05 p.m. The latter time is when the family was ushered in by Dr. Rehman, who urged them to make an immediate decision on whether to pull the woman from life support.
When the family went into the room at 3:05 p.m., they say the woman was propped up to “look alive,” and was even placed on a ventilator to stage a “fake alive” pose, despite medical records allegedly showing she had been declared dead for two hours. The woman’s family has since requested an independent autopsy, after learning that Ben Trotter, the Ross County coroner, is an employee of the Adena Health System.
Prior to this alleged incident, it was reported that more than 31 people had supported claims of Dr. Betz lacking proper credentials. Reportedly, he’s performed at least three transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures, despite not being qualified to perform the specialized operation.
Since this latest incident, current and former patients and their families have banded together to share their experiences and raise further questions in hopes of gaining justice. Additionally, the professional standards and safety policies at Adena’s cardiology department have also been called into question, along with further concerns about Dr. Rehman.
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