Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
The family of an 80-year-old grandmother has been allowed to move forward with their case against the California hospital that allegedly allowed the woman to be frozen alive.
After suffering a heart attack in July of 2010, the woman was declared dead by the hospital. After a few days, her body was found in a partially unzipped body bag having sustained injuries that were reflective of an attempt to escape the morgue freezer. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by her grieving family claims that she was declared dead prematurely by the hospital and ultimately froze to death while trying to free herself from the hospital morgue drawer.
Three years ago the first lawsuit in this case was filed and just recently a California appeals court ruled that the family’s medical malpractice lawsuit can move forward. The hospital is denying liability and claims to have followed proper protocol in this matter but the family is claiming that the woman’s injuries were sustained prior to her death but were not present when she was initially brought into the hospital and mistakenly pronounced dead.
The loss of a loved one is difficult regardless of the situation, but in cases of medical malpractice the loss can also be unexpected. When someone you love is in the care of medical professionals the hope is that they will come out of the situation better or healthier, but when that person ends up in a worse condition or even dead, due to negligence, it can be heartbreaking and painful.
The family of this woman has endured a great deal of pain and suffering throughout the last few years and continues to feel that loss as they move forward with their case. However, taking legal action against a negligent or reckless party can be an effective way of regaining a sense of justice and finding some closure.
Source: NBC4 News, "Grandmother Died Trying to Escape Morgue Freezer: Lawsuit," Andrew Lopez, Hetty Chang, Jason Kandel and Jonathan Lloyd, April 4, 2014
