BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Mercy Hospital and an obstetrician-gynecologist in the death of a patient in April.
The suit names as a defendant Dr. Arthur M. Park, who is also accused of negligence by the Medical Board of California in the death of a patient in 2016.
Filed last week, the suit says Park treated 23-year-old Demi Ruben Dominguez on April 15 for swelling and elevated blood pressure.
It’s unclear from medical records exactly how Park treated Dominguez, who was pregnant, but she was released the next day with instructions to take medication and monitor her blood pressure at home, according to the suit.
She visited another doctor, Hans C. Yu, on April 17. Yu is also included in the lawsuit.
Her blood pressure during the visit with Yu was 133/98 and 145/100, according to the suit, which says “it is unclear whether a urinalysis or physical exam was performed at that time.”
On April 19, Dominguez was brought back to Mercy after being found unresponsive at home. She died after the boy was delivered, and the child died later the same day.
The suit says the doctors were negligent in that they failed to do the following: timely or appropriately evaluate the seriousness of Dominguez’s condition; order appropriate studies to properly diagnose and treat her; timely administer appropriate medications to her; schedule appropriate followup care for her; and otherwise treat the condition of Dominguez and her son in an appropriate manner.
A court hearing is scheduled Nov. 26.
Regarding the medical board accusation, Park was on-call at Adventist Health when a 23-year-old woman’s baby was delivered in 2016.
The baby was healthy, but documents say Park rushed the extraction of the mother’s placenta, causing her to suffer blood loss. The documents say he did not correctly diagnose the problem and delayed a call to the hospital’s rapid response team.
The woman went into cardiac arrest twice and died later that night in the intensive care unit.
If Park is disciplined by the board, he could possibly have his license revoked.
