Hunter
11/10/26
University of Iowa Health Care will pay over $2.1 million in total to two families whose patients died.
The first settlement, totaling $1.3 million, will go to the family of a 41- year-old Benton County woman who died in the hospital following a heart attack suffered in 2022. Stephanie Earle went to the ER at Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton on July 1st that year and was transferred to UIHC. The family accused Virginia Gay Hospital and its workers of medical malpractice and wrongful death for failing to consult a cardiologist or transfer her to a specialist in a timely manner while she was having a major heart attack. They amended the suit adding the state of Iowa as a defendant for its oversight of UIHC.
The second settlement for $875,000 involved a Benton County man who suffered a brain aneurysm and died in June 2023 from an unrelated fungal infection. He came to the ER complaining of seizure-like activity, a severe headache, frequent hiccups and nausea. A brain MRI was done, showing brain swelling following his previous brain surgery. He died 8 days after entering the ER from a systemic fungal illness. The family said had an eye examination been performed on the first day, that would have led to a diagnosis of a fungal infection.
The Gazette reports the State Board of Appeals approved the settlements Monday.