$3.5M Awarded In Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The family of a woman who died when she received inadequate care after surgery at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center has been awarded $3.5 million in a settlement over the death, court papers say.
Lori D. Kashinsky, of Tunkhannock, died in July 2006 when staff at the Plains Township hospital failed to treat the internal bleeding she suffered after a gall bladder removal, despite clear signs that she was hemorrhaging for hours after the procedure, the suit said.
Tuesday’s settlement, filed in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, calls for Kashinsky’s family to receive the funds from the hospital and doctors Alejandro J. Gruneiro and Asish Mukherjee.
The suit, filed by attorneys Joseph A. Quinn Jr. and Michelle M. Quinn of the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger, and Quinn, said:
Kashinsky, 50, went to Geisinger on July 18, 2006, for the scheduled surgery with Gruneiro. Her surgery was finished by about 9 a.m., but about five hours later, a nurse found Kashinsky complaining of nausea and cold sweats. The nurse took Kashinsky’s blood pressure for the first time in four hours. Kashinsky’s blood pressure was inaudible.
Two hours later, a blood test showed Kashinsky was losing blood. About 30 minutes later, blood tests showed “critical” signs and a blood test three hours later showed signs of ongoing blood loss.
The test results showed signs of “life-threatening blood loss,” the attorneys said in the suit, but Kashinsky was not taken to the operating room until 9 p.m. There, the attorneys said, “1.5 liters of old, clotted blood was found inside” Kashinsky’s abdomen. Between July 18 and 29, when Kashinsky died, she remained at the hospital.
“During that time, (Kashinsky) suffered excruciating pain,” the attorneys wrote.
On July 28, Gruneiro noted Kashinsky’s right colon and right lobe of the liver were dead. Gruneiro also concluded that Kashinsky’s entire small bowel was dead, making her condition “incompatible with life,” the suit said. Kashinsky died July 29. Her husband and sons were present when she died.
They sued in July 2007, claiming Kashinsky’s death was preventable had the defendants appropriately monitored her after surgery and treated her symptoms.
The parties reached the $3.5-million settlement and it was approved Tuesday by Judge Chester Muroski.
The settlement calls for Kashinsky’s husband, three sons, and estate to receive and distribute among them about $2.205 million and the law firm to receive about $1.293 million for fees and costs.
Joseph Quinn said he could not comment on the settlement Tuesday.
Dave Jolley, a spokesman for Geisinger, said the “matter is resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.”