According to a complaint, a new mother died from hemorrhage at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center hours after giving birth as a result of several avoidable mistakes, such as failing to recognize or appropriately treat the blood loss.
In a complaint filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the family of Abirami Goyal, often known as Abi, is now requesting $100 million from Providence Health, a hospital network that operates in seven states.
According to the lawsuit, Goyal gave birth for the first time via emergency C-section at around 6 a.m. on March 13, 2024, and everything appeared to be going well until 90 minutes later, when medical professionals found extensive bleeding and hurried the 31-year-old back to the operating room.
More important time passed before doctors realized they needed to conduct an emergency hysterectomy to halt the bleeding, according to the lawsuit, and the medical team delayed ordering a blood transfusion.
However, the procedure was unable to halt the bleeding, and at 10:30 a.m., Goyal was declared dead. She left behind Kartikeya, her husband, and Sahana, their newborn daughter.
According to plaintiff’s lawyer Jeffrey B. Killino, the processes that are meant to prevent harm from getting to the patient failed on all fronts. It is simply a heartbreaking loss that avoided having to occur.
According to a report published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the maternal mortality rate in Oregon has more than doubled since 1999, reaching 14 fatalities per 100,000 births. For women in historically underrepresented groups in Oregon, maternal mortality rates were significantly higher.
A 2023 study from the Oregon Health Authority found that about half of maternal fatalities are avoidable.
Goyal attended the University of California, Berkeley to study computer science and electrical engineering after growing up in Buffalo, New York. She advanced through Intel’s ranks fast after graduating a half-year early. She lived in Northwest Portland and was a manager at the computer chip manufacturer.
Regarding the ongoing legal dispute, a Providence representative chose not to comment.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
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