Mother sues medical center over pregnant woman's death

A woman has sued an area medical center over the death of her pregnant daughter while under the center's care.

Mother Patricia Ann Bourgeois filed a lawsuit in Harris County on Nov. 8 complaining that Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center was negligent in the treatment and care of daughter Dasha Blaylock, resulting in her death.  Bourgeois is administrator of Blaylock's estate and is also filing on behalf of Heaven Edmonson and Patrick Edmonson II, who are minor children of the deceased.

According to the suit, Blaylock was sent to the medical center by Dr. Joseph Montgomery, her OB/GYN, on June 5, 2009. At the time, she was more than 37 weeks pregnant. Her blood pressure was high, but she was discharged. Four days later, she returned with shortness of breath and was sent to the emergency room. After waiting two and a half hours there, the suit says, she suffered a cardiac arrest. A medical team tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead a half-hour later. Doctors removed the baby by cesarean-section, but the baby died due to severe lack of oxygen before birth.

The plaintiffs seek damages due to negligent care of Blaylock. They attest that the medical center should have watched her more closely and monitored her more directly. Plaintiffs claim that Dr. Minh Pham, the emergency room physician, was negligent for not considering the diagnosis of pregnancy-induced hypertension, which led to her cardio-respiratory arrest. They request damage for physical pain, mental anguish, and the cost of medical, funeral, and burial expenses.

The plaintiffs are represented by Attorney Jim M. Perdue Jr., from the law firm Perdue and Kidd LLP.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2010-73686.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by the plaintiffs. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.