Heartbroken family of mom-of-two, 30, who died just weeks after giving birth to daughter sue OBGYN, nurse and hospital for ‘failing to treat heart infection’: Doctor ‘previously settled two malpractice suits for $3M’
A Las Vegas doctor is being sued for “failing to treat the heart infection” of a mother who died just weeks after giving birth to her daughter.
Cassie Medina, 30, gave birth on February 7 last year and was later released from Centennial Hills Hospital without being treated for an elevated heart rate, a lawsuit claims.
The mother of two died on March 1 after undergoing heart valve replacement due to a serious infection.
Her heartbroken family has now filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against local gynecologist Dr. Steven Harter, an advanced practice nurse and Intermountain Health Care Inc.
The lawsuit alleges that Harter previously settled two other medical malpractice claims in the past decade, totaling $3 million.
Cassie Medina (left) gave birth on February 7 last year and was later discharged from Centennial Hills Hospital without treatment for an elevated heart rate
The mother of two died on March 1 after undergoing heart valve replacement due to a serious infection
He also faces an ongoing malpractice lawsuit in Clark County, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
The family’s lawsuit alleges that Intermountain Health breached its duty by hiring Harter after he was involved in settlements worth $3 million.
“There is something wrong here when a doctor has this history and nothing happens,” attorney Robert Murdock, who represented Medina’s family, told the publication.
“It’s like hiring a wolf to guard the chicken coop,” he said.
“We are aware of this lawsuit and will address these claims in the appropriate legal forum,” an Intermountain Health Care spokesperson said, but declined to comment further.
A routine heart test would have registered a treatable infection, Murdock said in the lawsuit.
“You have to treat it, and you have to treat it with antibiotics,” Murdock said, adding that “she would have been fine” if she had received proper care.
Neither Harter nor the nurse ordered Medina to receive any treatment other than Tylenol after an electrocardiogram test showed she had an elevated heart rate following the birth of her daughter, the lawsuit said.
“Anyone lucky enough to have met Cassie knows how much weaker the world is now,” her sister-in-law said
Cassie is survived by her husband Joshua and their two daughters Mila and Rosalie
“Cassie always put others first. She was the epitome of kindness and grace,” a GoFundMe family page said
‘Mrs. Medina was not advised to contact a cardiologist or her internal medicine physician,” Murdock wrote.
“The only recommended medical follow-up was for Cassie to see her obstetrician, Dr. Harter, would visit within four to six weeks.’
“Anyone who has been fortunate enough to have met Cassie knows how bleaker the world is right now,” her sister-in-law says wrote on a GoFundMe page committed to her memory.
“She was such a bright light and a truly beautiful person inside and out,” Radley Medina wrote.
“Cassie always put others first. She was the epitome of kindness and grace.
“My heart breaks for my brother and my nieces,” she added.
Cassie is survived by her husband Joshua and their two daughters, Mila and Rosalie.
Harter faced a lawsuit in 2014 after one of his patients suffered a uterine rupture during childbirth, damaging her baby’s brain and causing cerebral palsy, the Journal reported.
Cassie Medina died just weeks after giving birth to her second daughter
Medina’s (center) heartbroken family has now filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against local gynecologist Dr. Steven Harter
An emergency C-section was delayed until 20 minutes after the woman’s uterus ruptured and the baby had passed into her abdominal cavity by the time the C-section was performed, the lawsuit said.
The case was settled by Harter’s insurance company for $1 million.
In 2016, another lawsuit was filed against the doctor alleging a “delay in diagnosing fetal distress, which resulted in the child being born in a compromised condition.”
His insurance company paid $2 million from the settlement.
A new case was filed in April 2022 by the family of a baby delivered by Harter in 2012.
According to the lawsuit, the baby’s mother was not informed of the risks of using forceps or vacuum extraction during birth.
Despite the mother’s preference for a faster cesarean section, it was not performed until forceps and vacuum extraction had been used, the statement said.
The baby has since been unable to speak and has cognitive development problems.
He suffers from seizures, growth development problems and has undergone surgeries to correct his neck and posture, according to the lawsuit, which claims his health problems stem from the forceps and vacuum extraction.
Robert Murdock, Dr. Steven Harter and Intermountain Health Care Inc. did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s requests for comment.