‘Rolled their eyes’: Pregnant woman forced to deliver premature baby in her car in hospital parking lot after staff refused to help, leading to baby’s death, lawsuit says

A California pistillate who went to a hospital with aggravated labour pains claimed successful a suit that she was refused help, which resulted successful her giving commencement successful the infirmary parking batch to a premature babe who aboriginal died.

Hannah Michaelis, 30, was six months large with her archetypal kid connected May 4, 2024, erstwhile she and her mother, Carla Michaelis, drove to Sharp Grossmont Hospital successful La Mesa, a metropolis successful eastbound San Diego, for attraction for “cramping and pain.” According to the suit and a recounting of their experience to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Hannah Michaelis was sent location and told to spot her regular doc astatine a antithetic hospital.

But her symptom lone got worse, and portion successful “excruciating pain” from contractions, Hannah Michaelis and her parent had returned to Sharp Grossmont Hospital the pursuing time when, according to the lawsuit, infirmary unit “denied Hannah introduction to the infirmary and refused to supply aesculapian care.”

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According to the lawsuit, “the unit rolled their eyes astatine Hannah and her mother, expressed their annoyance, and turned them away.”

The suit stated that aft being refused help, Hannah Michaelis and her parent called 911 from the infirmary parking lot. However, exigency services informed Carla Michaelis that they could not travel to a infirmary to bring a diligent to different hospital. Emergency dispatchers past called the unit astatine Sharp Grossmont Hospital to inquire wherefore a diligent was calling for assistance from their ain parking lot, the suit says.

In the 911 call, a infirmary unit subordinate reportedly told dispatchers, “I don’t know, she’s yelling and screaming … I person a caregiver going retired to her car close present … she was told to spell to UCSD yesterday if she had immoderate further complications and she conscionable kinda stormed retired and said she was gonna telephone 911 … and I was like, ‘No, they’re not gonna instrumentality you to different hospital.'”

In the meantime, Hannah Michaelis gave commencement to her lad portion she was inactive successful the car. Carla Michaelis told the San Diego Union-Tribune that her girl told her “something other is wrong, I enactment my manus successful my pants and I could consciousness his arms and legs.”

When a infirmary staffer came retired to the car and the parent and girl told her what happened, the staffer reportedly “rolled her eyes” telling the Michaelis’ “There’s nary babe yet” without examining Hannah Michaelis. At that point, infirmary unit moved Hannah Michaelis — portion her premature newborn was inactive successful her underwear — onto a wheelchair to beryllium transported into the infirmary for treatment.

After her archetypal attraction astatine Sharp Grossmont Hospital, a squad from Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns arrived to transportation the baby, whom Hannah Michaelis named Samuel, to a specialized facility.

According to the lawsuit, Samuel’s unexpected transportation astatine 24 weeks gestation positive the transportation of his parent from the parking batch to the infirmary “caused injuries to Samuel’s head, shoulders, and neck” arsenic good arsenic “two high-grade intraventricular hemorrhages.” These injuries, the suit alleged, were caused by the infirmary staff’s negligence and yet led to Samuel’s decease 5 days aboriginal connected May 10, 2024.

In summation to the alleged attraction of the Michaelis’ by the unit astatine Sharp Grossmont Hospital, the suit noted that the infirmary is equipped with a neonatal intensive attraction unit. The ailment besides cites the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA), which “[required] them to supply due aesculapian screening and attraction to patients presenting with exigency aesculapian conditions, including progressive labor, careless of quality to pay, security status, oregon immoderate different protected class.”

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Sharp HealthCare told Law&Crime:

Sharp HealthCare caregivers are committed to providing high-quality attraction to each patients. While we cannot remark connected cases successful litigation, Sharp has recovered that often, when diligent incidents are publically reported, the timeline and accusation disagree from what really occurred. We cannot connection immoderate further details astir the lawsuit astatine this time. Our hearts spell retired to this family, and each families, erstwhile immoderate beingness is lost.

Janna M. Trolia, the lawyer representing Carla and Hannah Michaelis, told Law&Crime: “Instead of holding their son/grandson successful their arms, the household is immersed successful this suit seeking accountability for his suffering and tragic passing, which forces them to relive the traumatic circumstances surrounding Baby Samuel’s commencement and death. Despite the affectional toll, they stay determined to question justness for their household and support different families from experiencing specified devastation.”