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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Family members of television judge Glenda Hatchett, who claim a loved one died in 2016 due to medical malpractice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, can move forward to trial with their lawsuit, a judge has ruled.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert B. Broadbelt on Tuesday denied a defense motion to dismiss the case brought in March 2017 by Charles Johnson IV -- Hatchett's son -- and his two minor sons against the hospital and Drs. Stuart Martin, Sara Churchill and Kathryn Sharma.
The plaintiff's allege that Johnson's wife, 39-year-old Kyira Adele Dixon, died due to the negligence of doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on April 13, 2016. She had received prenatal care and delivery at the hospital, according to the plaintiffs.
``This is a case where a woman was negligently allowed to bleed to death internally while her husband watched her slowly fade away,'' the plaintiffs' attorneys stated in their court papers. ``It wasn't one, two, three, or even four hours. Plaintiff Charles Johnson personally witnessed and experienced approximately seven hours of fright, shock and horror while bright red blood continued to come out of his wife's catheter as the life bled out of her.''
In their court papers, defense attorneys maintained the doctors' actions were within the applicable standard of medical care. Disputing Johnson's claim for emotional distress, the defense lawyers say he was told to stand behind a curtain where he could see his wife's face, but not what the physicians were doing with his wife's stomach.
``There was nothing that caused Mr. Johnson a concern during the Cesarean section,'' the defense attorneys stated in their court papers.
Trial is scheduled May 11.