Personal Injury Litigation: The Diehl Case

Pennsylvania - New Jersey - New York - Nationwide

FRANKLIN/LANCASTER

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
OB-GYN — Childbirth — Failure to Monitor — Medication

New mother's estate claimed drugs during labor killed her

SETTLEMENT $1,500,000

CASE Estate of Melissa Diehl v. Dr. Sahael Raschid and Chambersburg Hospital. d/b/a Summit Health, Inc., No. CV-1.0081-99
COURT Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, PA
JUDGE Douglas Herrman
DATE 8/20/2004

PLAINTIFF
ATTORNEYS) Matthew A. Casey, Kline & Specter, Philadelphia, PA.

DEFENSE
ATTORNEY(S) Andrew Foulkrod, Foulkrod & Ellis, Harrisburg, PA (Sohael Raschid, M.D.) Kevin E. Osborne, Hartman, Osborne & Rettig, Harrisburg, PA (Chambersburg Hospital d/h/a/ Summit Health Inc.)

FACTS & ALLEGATIONS On Nov. 20, 1998, Melissa Diehl, a 19-year-old learning disabled girl, in her 30th week of pregnancy, began to have contractions and was admitted to Chambersburg Hospital. The OB-GYN, Sohael Raschid, administered drugs called tocohthycs, which were used to slow down labor. After giving birth to a healthy girl, Diehl's condition began to deteriorate to the point where she needed to be flown to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, for emergency treatment. She died there on Dec.18, of severe respiratory distress and pulmonary complications.

The estate of Melissa Diehl sued Dr. Sohael Raschid, the obstetrician and gynecologist in Chambersburg, and Chambersburg Hospital, owned by Summit. Health Inc., alleging that they were responsible for Diehl's death because Raschid administered excessive amounts of tocolithyes and also administered different types of the drug, which interacted negatively and caused severe pulmonary complications and eventual acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The plaintiffs also claimed that Raschid and the hospital staff failed to follow hospital procedure or to properly monitor the decedent while she was under their care.

INJURIES/DAMAGES death; Pulmonary; respiratory
Diehl died of a pulmonary complication and severe respiratory distress syndrome one month after her pregnancy.

Damages were sought for wrongful death and lost earnings, guidance, tutelage and moral upbringing monies for the child.

RESULT Raschild and Chambersburg Hospital agreed to split $1.5 million to settle the lawsuit. The settlement is one of the largest medical malpractice awards in a very conservative county.

EXPERTS None reported.