The family of Jahi McMath, a California teen who was pronounced brain dead after undergoing surgery to treat sleep apnea in 2013, announced this week it is suing the surgeon and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland for medical negligence.
The lawsuit includes new details about the case, including a description of blood pouring from the teen’s mouth while nurses disagreed over what to do and frantically called for a doctor, who
didn’t arrive until hours later, The Oakland Tribune reported.
Though doctors at the hospital have declared McMath brain dead — a death certificate has even been issued for the 13-year-old — her family continues to fight to keep her on life support. She is currently at an undisclosed location on the
East Coast, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit criticizes the hospital's handling of the McMath case and claims that officials hounded McMath's mother to donate the girl's organs.
"If you read the medical records, it's just a pretty cavalier approach to the whole thing," Bruce Brusavich, the family's attorney, told The Tribune.
The lawsuit, which names the hospital and surgeon Frederick Rosen, alleges medical negligence and seeks unspecified damages.
In the documents, the McMath family accuses one doctor at the hospital of slamming his fists on a table and saying, “What is it you don’t understand? She is dead, dead, dead, dead,” according to the Times.
The hospital declined to comment on potential litigation, simply saying in a statement that "our hearts go out to the McMath family."
The family’s previous attorney, Chris Dolan, had said he wouldn’t
sue the hospital, NBC Bay Area reported. Brusavich is reportedly friends with Dolan.
"The defendants were negligent in every step of this tragedy," Brusavich said. "The result is that a 13-year-old girl will never lead a normal life."
Twitter users shared mixed reactions.
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