Wrongful death suit filed against OMHS

The estate of a Hancock County woman who died in 2011 has filed a lawsuit against Owensboro Medical Health System, claiming the hospital's failure to let the woman be brought there ultimately resulted in her death.

In late November, the estate of Marilyn West filed suit against OMHS in Daviess Circuit Court. The suit was filed through Steve West, Marilyn West's husband, court records say.

Marilyn West died Dec. 7, 2011, at OMHS. The lawsuit claims West became ill and was taken to Breckenridge Memorial Hospital.

"While there, Mrs. West began having difficulty breathing, and the emergency room personnel attempted to establish an emergency airway," the civil complaint says. "After having some difficulty, a sufficient but temporary airway was established." At that point, after "sufficiently stabilizing" West, emergency room staff contacted OMHS and requested West be transferred there because, "Breckinridge Memorial Hospital did not have the specialized medical personnel to properly care for Mrs. West," the complaint says.

"Despite the request being made, Dr. (Robert) Huxol and Owensboro Medical Health System Inc. refused to accept (West's) transfer as a patient to their facility," the complaint says.

Huxol is a physician in the hospital's emergency department, said Gordon Wilkerson, an OMHS spokesman.

The complaint says Breckenridge Memorial staff then contacted University of Louisville Hospital to request West be transferred. Someone at U of L Hospital said they would call back, but did not, the complaint says. Norton Healthcare, which has several hospitals in Louisville, was contacted, but Norton officials refused the transfer, the complaint says.

A second call was made to OMHS, the complaint says; A Breckenridge Memorial staff member spoke to a physician other than Huxol, who agreed to have West transferred to OMHS, the complaint says.

The complaint says OMHS had an obligation to accept West at the time the first request was made. Such transfers are regulated by the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, the complaint says. According to a 2006 analysis written for Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings — a quarterly medical periodical — the EMTALA was created to prevent the practice of transferring patients from one hospital to another because the patient was unable to pay for medical care.

The law allows a patient who has been stabilized to be transferred to another facility if the other hospital has the capacity to accept the patient.

"Hospitals with specialized capabilities are obligated to accept transfers from hospitals who lack the capability to treat certain emergency medical conditions," the complaint says, "... If (a) hospital does not have the capability to treat the emergency medical condition, an "appropriate" transfer of the patient to another hospital must be done in accordance with EMTALA provisions.

"The Defendants herein violated, not only the applicable medical standards of care but also violated EMTALA mandates," the complaint says."The violations of the standard of care and federal law ultimately resulted in Mrs. West's death."

Wilkerson said OMHS does not comment on pending litigation.

B. Alan Simpson, the Bowling Green attorney representing West's estate, said West was later rendered brain dead from a lack of oxygen. Simpson said similar lawsuits have been filed against U of L Hospital and Norton Healthcare. None of the hospitals have filed responses to the lawsuits, Simpson said.

The federal law requires "hospitals to accept patients from outlying hospitals," Simpson said.

While a hospital that is at capacity can deny a transfer, Simpson said OMHS did accept West after Breckenridge Memorial officials called a second time.

"When you end up accepting the same patient ... it's hard to argue capacity," Simpson said.

West "was critically ill," Simpson said. He would not comment on anything physicians at OMHS, U of L Hospital or Norton Healthcare might have said when the hospitals were contacted about West.

"Federal law is pretty clear as to what you're supposed to do," Simpson said.

The suit was filed Nov. 29. All three hospitals named have 20 days to file responses to the allegations. A hearing for the suit against OMHS has not yet been scheduled.

James Mayse, 691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com