PREPARE FOR FIGHT WITH STATE DEAD AFTER C-SECTION, MOM’S FAMILY WARNED:
The family of Chrystal Ramsoomair, who died after an alleged botched Caesarean section at the San Fernando General Hospital two Fridays ago, should prepare for a bitter legal fight against the State in their quest for justice. This was the advice from Patrick Regis, whose wife, Judith, died under similar circumstances at the hospital when she went in to deliver her baby, Issiah, by C-section two years ago. Regis said despite a request through the Freedom of Information Act, the hospital said he could not have the medical records of his dead wife without a court order, or a grant of probate. He said when he provided legal documents proving he was the father the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) would only give him the records of the child who was delivered before his wife’s death. Regis said a civil attorney has since declined to pursue the case. He said it was left up to him to investigate how his wife died. Judith Regis, 38, had no complication before going to the hospital for the C-section in June 2009. She began losing blood after the procedure and died the next day. Pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris gave the cause of Judith’s death as pulmonary thrombo embolism (blood clot in the lung) and uterine vein thrombosis (blood clot in the uterus). Regis claimed his wife died from medical negligence. “I want to encourage (Ramsoomair’s) family to not give up. At the end of the day, when your children ask what did you do to find out the truth of how their mother died, you can tell them you tried your best.” Ramsoomair, 29, was admitted for a scheduled C-Section and delivered her baby without complications, but was dead before midnight. An autopsy found she died from hypovolemic shock, poor hysterectomy and the C-section. The woman, of St Mary’s Freeport, left behind three children and a traumatised husband, Lorne Ramsoomair. Ramsoomair’s funeral was held last Friday the Knox Presbyterian Church in Couva.
Extracted From: Trinidad Express Newspaper
Published on Mar 14, 2011