On July 1, 2026, an Ohio medical malpractice wrongful death jury returned its verdict in the amount of $25 million for the death of an Ohio man whose sepsis was allegedly not timely diagnosed and treated by a hospital in October 2021, leading to a hemorrhagic stroke and subsequent death due to bacterial endocarditis.
The man was originally treated for anemia at the Hope Center for Cancer Care in Youngstown, Ohio, in June 2021. According to the Ohio medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit, certified nurse practitioner Kimberly Hildebrand and/or physician Amy Awaida administered an intravenous infusion of iron to the man in October 2021, despite the man having signs and symptoms of an infection (intravenous iron is linked to an increased risk of infection).
After the infusion was completed, the man had an elevated heart rate and a 103-degree temperature. Blood and urine samples were taken for testing but he was nonetheless sent home without a prescription for antibiotics or a referral to an emergency department for further evaluation.
According to the lawsuit, the man was found confused and incoherent on his front porch the following day and was taken to the emergency room at Mercy Health-St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. During this time, the Hope Center received the results of the blood and urine testing that showed bacteria in the man’s blood and that he had kidney dysfunction.
The lawsuit alleged that the records from Hope Center indicate Hildebrand called the Mercy Health-St. Elizabeth Youngstown emergency department and advised them of the tests results but the emergency room doctors claimed to have no memory of receiving the tests results (the tests results were not contained in the man’s electronic medical record). The man’s sepsis was not timely diagnosed or treated until days later when it was suspected that he may have bacterial endocarditis. Unfortunately, the man died on October 11, 2021, five days after being admitted to the hospital.
The Ohio medical malpractice wrongful death jury determined that Hildebrand was 80% at fault and that an infectious disease doctor who was affiliated with Mercy Health-St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital but was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was 20% at fault for the man’s death.
Mercy Health was initially named as a defendant in the Ohio medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit but it settled before trial for $1 million.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Ohio or in another U.S. state, you should promptly seek the legal advice of an Ohio medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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