MEDIA - A lawsuit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas against Crozer-Chester Medical Center and associated entities alleges negligence on the part of the defendants in the death of Gertrude Clarke.
Tanisha Sutton, Clarke’s daughter and the plaintiff in the case and administrator of Clarke’s estate, alleges that on July 3, 2019, Clarke was at the medical center for a scheduled elective outpatient endoscopy and colonoscopy, according to court documents. The procedures were prescribed due to gastrointestinal health complaints presented by Clarke, including abdominal pain.
The suit alleges that Clarke first received anesthesia, then both procedures were performed over the course of approximately an hour. However, after the procedures were completed and Clarke was transported to another portion of the hospital for recovery, the suit alleges that she was found to be hypo-ventilating with a palpable pulse.
Approximately 15 minutes after the final procedure had finished, the suit alleges that a code team began chest compressions following administration of atropine. A little over 10 minutes later, she was intubated and received epinephrine.
Clarke was transferred to the intensive care unit, and a day later an MRI and EEG discovered “extensive anoxic brain injury,” the suit alleges. It was determined she had experienced cardiac arrest, and on July 12 she was discharged to hospice care, passing away on July 14.