The family of American hero and astronaut Neil Armstrong were not happy with the quality of care received at an Ohio hospital. According to a Washington Examiner article, the family sued Mercy Health System after Armstrong died in their care. The hospital paid out a $6 million settlement to avoid taking the case to trial.
According to medical records, Armstrong had a successful cardiac bypass surgery in 2012. However, after nurses removed temporary wires from his pacemaker, Armstrong began to bleed internally and show signs of a severe drop in blood pressure. From there, the hospital decided to take Armstrong to a catheterization room instead of immediately performing surgery. Investigators concluded that resulted in Armstrong’s untimely death.
Armstrong is survived by two sons, one of whom is married to an attorney. The attorney threatened to publicize the disaster and that leveraged the hospital into a generous settlement.
Family Was Under NDA
The news came as the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing was in the forefront of everyone’s mind. According to Wendy Armstrong, the former daughter-in-law of Neil and a lawyer herself, everyone had agreed not to speak publicly about the details of the settlement. However, the family broke their silence as Neil Armstrong’s name was once again in the headlines.
At the time of his death, the family announced that Armstrong had died of complications related to his cardiovascular treatment. However, Wendy Armstrong was able to expedite a lucrative settlement for two major reasons.
The first reason was that an independent team of investigators that was hired by the Armstrong family and the hospital both determined that the hospital made a fatal error when they brought Armstrong to the catheterization room to drain blood around his heart. Had they brought him directly to an operating room, doctors may have been able to repair the damage that occurred after the wires were removed from his pacemaker.
The other major factor involves Armstrong’s notoriety. No one wants to be thought of as the medical institution whose critical failure to make a key decision robbed America of one of its greatest heroes.
Hospital Denies Wrongdoing
Even though there is significant evidence that the hospital made a mistake in Armstrong’s treatment and even though independent investigators outlined what that mistake was, the hospital maintains that it did not commit medical malpractice and that it only settled the case to avoid a lengthy public litigation. It probably helped a great deal that Wendy Armstrong threatened to have her husband and his brother sign book deals to discuss their father’s demise at the hands of the medical institution. As in all things in life, it helps if you’re surrounded by powerful people and have massive name recognition to lean on to leverage a settlement.
Talk to a Tampa Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
You may not be Neil Armstrong, but you’re still entitled to a high standard of care when it comes to medical treatment. If your doctor failed to provide the prevailing standard of care in their field, you are entitled to recover damages related to your injuries. Talk to the Tampa medical malpractice lawyers at Palmer | Lopez today for a free consultation.
Resources:
washingtonexaminer.com/news/ohio-hospital-paid-neil-armstrongs-family-6m-in-malpractice-settlement-after-his-death
nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/neil-armstrong-wrongful-death-settlement.html
