After losing her husband over complications following a stay at Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Crystal Rodriguez filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the medical center. In the lawsuit, Rodriguez accuses the medical center of “negligence after her husband allegedly developed cellulitis, Toxic Shock Syndrome, and other complications while under the hospital's care.” According to the suit, Lompoc Valley Medical Center staff allegedly failed to “closely monitoring Daniel Rodriguez and released him early, despite his condition worsening just a few days after his admittance to the hospital in May 2017.” Sadly, he died May 19, 2017, at the young age of 32.In addition to naming the medical center as a defendant, the lawsuit also named “internal medicine specialist Dr. Hany Bashandy, who was temporarily employed as an independent contractor for Lompoc Valley Medical Center in 2017,” according to court documents.But what happened? Well, it began around May 9, 2017, when Crystal claims her husband “was taken to the LVMC emergency room because his left leg was exceedingly swollen.” It was later determined he had also developed cellulitis, “a bacterial infection that can develop in the skin and its tissues.” Cellulitis is a serious condition because, if left untreated, “the infection can spread to the lymph nodes and bloodstream and become life-threatening.

Stethoscope and medical charts; image courtesy of
DarkoStojanovic via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

After discovering he had cellulitis, Daniel was “transferred to the critical care unit" where Crystal alleges he was neglected. For example, while in the critical care unit, her husband “reportedly had exceedingly high ammonia levels and also contracted pneumonia.” Additionally, she claims her husband was “left unmonitored and/or egregiously neglected for long periods of time so that his condition significantly deteriorated.” Eventually he also “contracted Toxic Shock Syndrome which worsened his condition,” according to the lawsuit.As a result, Crystal is also arguing in the suit that the doctor who looked after her husband, Dr. Bashandy, was “negligent in her husband's treatment and released him from the hospital on May 15, 2017, despite his horrific medical condition.”The day after he was released from the hospital, Crystal and her family took Daniel to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. According to the suit, when he was admitted to the critical care unit at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, “one of the doctors at asked [Daniel's] parents, Ruben and Leticia Rodriguez, why LVMC had released Daniel.”Unfortunately, Daniel's condition continued to worsen at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, and he later died at the hospital due to the “negligence, carelessness, lack of prudence and reasonable judgment of the defendants,” according to the lawsuit. As a result, Crystal and her family are seeking financial damages to cover the costs of the funeral and burial, along with the “reasonable monetary value Rodriguez would've provided for his family had he been alive.” In addition, the lawsuit argues the family “sustained substantial non-economic damages consisting of loss of decedent's love, marital relations, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support.”In response to the allegation, Dr. Bashandy said, “I did [cover some days] at Lompoc Valley Medical Center in the springtime briefly,” but denied remembering Daniel Rodriguez. He also said he was “unaware of any suit that has been filed against him.”A representative for Lompoc Valley Medical Center said the hospital “cannot comment due to pending litigation.” However, the lawsuit comes after the hospital dealt with a year of scrutiny by a “local watchdog grassroots organizations, and representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services." Why? It turns out, back in May 2017, the hospital was “at risk of losing its Medicare, Medicaid and Medi-Cal certifications after a state inspection of the hospital found several deficiencies.” After being put on notice, the hospital passed the follow-up inspection in June 2017,

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Woman files wrongful death suit against Lompoc Valley Medical CenterLompoc Valley Medical Center's future in jeopardy after unfavorable review