Fla. woman requesting further medical care for difficulty breathing dies following arrest for refusal to leave property; family sues hospital

Monday, July 25, 2016 by: Isabelle Z.
Tags: medical errors, civil rights abuse, hospital malpractice

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(NaturalNews) Can you imagine going to the hospital for help with breathing problems and ending up in a police car? That is exactly what happened to Florida woman Barbara Dawson, in a shocking turn of events that ultimately resulted in her death shortly thereafter.

On December 21, 2015, 57-year-old Barbara Dawson was admitted to Liberty Calhoun Hospital for difficulty breathing. She was treated and then quickly discharged. When she insisted that she still felt unwell and requested further treatment, staff refused and ordered her to leave the property.

When she refused to leave because she felt she needed additional help, staff called the police and had her arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct. After being handcuffed and forcibly removed from the hospital, she was placed in a police car. Her family says a nurse would not allow her to bring along her oxygen tank, because they said she was breathing fine.

When the police officer opened the car door, she fell to the ground, handcuffed. An EMT and nurse tried to help the police officer get her into the car after her collapse. Twenty minutes later, she was brought back to the ER, where she was pronounced dead just two hours later.

According to the medical examiner, her death was caused by blood clots on her lungs that were likely brought about by her obesity. These large blood clots are known for causing symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain. A third of all pulmonary embolisms end in death.

Family suing the hospital, police and city

Now, her family has filed a lawsuit against the hospital, members of its staff and the arresting police officer, along with the city of Blounstown itself. Their lawsuit alleges a lack of emergency care, battery, false imprisonment and civil rights infringement.

The story almost sounds unbelievable. It's hard to imagine any hospital or medical staff not taking a woman's claims that she can't breathe seriously, but the reality is that medical errors by hospitals are far more common than most of us would like to believe.

Hospital errors caused more than 7 million deaths in past 16 years alone

According to the Pharma Death Clock, hospital errors cause 440,000 deaths per year, and have been responsible for more than 7 million deaths since the year 2000. The American Association of Justice, meanwhile, says that preventable medical errors are the number six cause of preventable death in the country.

There are also countless other medical errors that do not lead to death, but can adversely affect a person's quality of life. Earlier this year, a New Mexico mother was shocked to find that a nurse had accidentally cut off her newborn son's toe while removing an IV that had been placed in his foot.

Hospital malnutrition is believed to be behind more than 1.8 million deaths since 2000, while hospital infections are the cause of more than 1.2 million deaths. While hospitals do save lives, the high potential for error and infection has many of us doing our best to avoid having to go there in the first place.

While there are no guarantees you won't need a hospital at some point, living a healthy lifestyle can certainly help you avoid some types of hospitalization. For example, in the case of Barbara Dawson, being overweight contributed to her blood clot.

Eating a healthy diet that is full of fruits and vegetables is absolutely essential for optimal health and weight control. You should choose organic options whenever possible, and growing your own is always the best choice. The Food Rising Mini-Farm Grow Box is designed to help you grow your own fruits, vegetables and herbs quickly and successfully, so you can increase your intake of that all-important fiber and get plenty of vitamins and minerals from whole food sources.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

PharmaDeathClock.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

Science.NaturalNews.com