A mother in Canada had to undergo multiple limb amputations after giving birth in a Halifax hospital. Now she is suing the hospital for their contributions to her ordeal.
A New Mother's Ordeal
On March 2, Lindsey Hubley and her fiancé, Mike Sampson, welcomed their son Myles in IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada. The day after being discharged from the hospital, Hubley experienced abdominal pain but was diagnosed with constipation and sent back home. The next day, she fell ill and had to be rushed back to the hospital. Doctors found that she was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria. She had apparently been experiencing severe septic shock.
After her surgery, doctors decided to place her under an induced comatose in the ICU where she continued to fight for her life through multiple organ failures and several surgeries. As a result of the flesh-eating bacteria, Hubley lost her limbs below both her elbows and knees, and she also underwent a total hysterectomy, or the removal of the uterus. Further, her fiancé, Sampson, has not been able to work to care for both Hubley and their child.
Suing The Hospital
Because of the long ordeal that Hubley and her family had to endure for months, she is suing the hospital where she gave birth as well as a few Halifax-area doctors for their alleged negligence that contributed to her suffering.
According to Lawyer Ray Wagner, part of the placenta was not removed during the birth, and Hubley had a cut on her vagina that was not addressed, both possibly contributing to her flesh-eating bacteria contraction. Further, doctors allegedly did not perform examinations on Hubley on the day that she came back to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, something that could have prevented the serious damages to her health that followed.
"Our allegations are that had she been properly assessed when she presented at the hospital ... a substantial part of the damage, if not all of it, could have been prevented," said Wagner.
The allegations have yet to be proven in court, and the hospital has not yet made their statement regarding the matter.
Now Hubley is free from the flesh-eating bacterial infection, but still requires further surgeries that include a kidney transplant. According to her fiancé, Hubley remains positive even after their lives had been turned upside down. A GoFundMe page is set up to help the family with their medical bills.
