Northside Hospital Gwinnett complaint alleges delayed surgical consult before fatal bowel ischemia and sepsis
The complaint alleges that a hospitalized patient had lupus, end-stage renal disease, and cirrhosis. She was treated for weeks for a suspected pelvic infection and abdominal pain that was never resolved. During November 2024 pelvic surgery, purulent fluid was found but no cultures were taken. A December 2024 scope reached only her left colon, and the gastroenterology and infectious-disease teams later signed off despite ongoing symptoms. By early January 2025 she had worsening pain, distension, and elevated white blood cell counts. No surgical consultation was requested until late on January 3, shortly before she went into cardiac arrest and died. An autopsy found necrotic bowel and sepsis. The complaint alleges these delays caused her death.
Overview
This page concerns a public complaint alleging that hospital physicians did not obtain timely surgical consultation for worsening abdominal infection before a patient’s death.
Chronology
The complaint alleges as follows:
- On or about November 11, 2024 the patient was admitted to Northside Hospital Gwinnett with about a week of abdominal pain. Charles Freeman, M.D. was her attending physician.
- Imaging suggested a right adnexal cyst and a probable tubo-ovarian abscess or pyosalpinx.
- On November 19, 2024 Richard Glover, D.O. performed a diagnostic laparoscopy, converted to an open incision, with Venkata Kakarla, M.D. consulting intraoperatively. Purulent fluid was found, but no cultures were taken.
- On December 17, 2024 Jawad Ilyas, M.D. performed a flexible sigmoidoscopy limited to her left colon. It showed mucosal ulceration, but a fuller colonoscopy was not done.
- The infectious-disease team signed off December 19, 2024 and gastroenterology signed off December 20, despite her ongoing symptoms. Antibiotics were not resumed until the morning of January 3, 2025.
- By early January 2025 she had abdominal distension, worsening pain, shortness of breath, and elevated white blood cell counts. No surgical consultation was requested during January 1 and 2.
- A surgical evaluation was obtained late on January 3, 2025, finding necrotic bowel. She aspirated during intubation, suffered cardiac arrest, and died; an autopsy found sepsis and necrosis of the bowel.
Alleged failures
The complaint alleges the following failures:
- The internal medicine physicians did not obtain a surgical consultation on January 1 or 2, 2025, despite persistent symptoms and elevated white blood cells.
- The surgical team did not obtain intraoperative cultures despite encountering purulent fluid during the November 19 surgery.
- The gastroenterology and infectious-disease teams disengaged from the case in December 2024 despite ongoing symptoms, and antibiotics were not resumed until January 3, 2025.
- The complaint alleges Dr. Freeman’s inaction in the face of the patient’s deteriorating condition amounted to gross negligence.
- The complaint alleges these delays let her condition progress to bowel ischemia, sepsis, and death.
- The complaint pleads wrongful death, malpractice, general and corporate negligence, and gross negligence with punitive damages against Dr. Freeman. It also pleads negligent supervision, training, and retention, vicarious liability, survival, and negligence against unknown defendants, with an expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1.