Safety

Woman sues hospital system after husband dies from fainting fall

Emergency Management Alert, July 12, 2005

A woman whose husband fatally struck his head after passing out in a hospital delivery room is suing a California hospital system for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress, the Associated Press reports.

Officials from Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Inc., say Steven Passalaqua fainted when he saw a doctor administer an epidural anesthetic for his wife, Jeannette, in June 2004. His head struck an aluminum cap molding at the base of the wall, the lawsuit alleges. He died two days later from a fractured skull, which resulted in bleeding on the brain.

The lawsuit seeks burial expenses and unspecified damages.

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