In Massachusetts, a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Plymouth County Superior Court alleges that the doctors of the woman who accidentally drove her car into Brockton Hospital last year are also responsible for her husband’s wrongful death. Kathleen Vasa is suing Compass Medical, Dr. George Clairmont, Dr. Michelle Beaupre, Dr. Ersan Yalcin, and Dr. Jonathan Ellis for the death of her husband, Dr. Mark Vasa.
Vasa and another victim were killed last year after the vehicle driven by patient Jane Berghold crashed into the hospital. Berghold was a breast cancer patient who was being treated at the hospital.
Local police say the 77-year-old woman stepped on the gas pedal when she meant to step on the brake while parking her car. Instead of stopping her car, she drove her vehicle through the hospital’s radiation department. Vasa was the chief of radiation therapy at the hospital.
Berghold has since pleaded guilty to two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle and one count of negligent operation of a motor vehicle. She was sentenced to 18 months probation. She has also settled Kathleen Vasa’s wrongful death claim against her.
Kathleen’s lawsuit against Compass Medical contends that Berghold had told doctors that she was experiencing dizzy spells when driving. The lawsuit accuses the doctors of negligence because of their alleged failure to warn Berghold that she shouldn’t drive while taking the powerful medications she had been prescribed. The elderly woman was receiving treatment at Compass Medical for diabetes, hypertension, and other ailments.
Kathleen Vasa is seeking unspecified punitive damages for negligence and wrongful death.
Abington doctors sued in fatal hospital crash, PatriotLedger.com, October 9, 2008
Suit Claims Hospital Crash Driver Had Dizzy Spells, WBZTV.com, October 9, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Widow sues driver in hospital crash, Boston.com, November 1, 2008
Car crashes into door at Brockton Hospital, Boston.com, October 16, 2007
Compass Medical, PC