Coffey's estate was awarded $598,000 and her husband, Francis Coffey, received $385,000, according to federal court documents.
Coffey underwent coronary bypass surgery at DHMC on Aug. 30, 2005. She was readmitted two days later after complaining that she had difficulty breathing, according to court documents. Doctors determined that she had low blood sugar and administered several doses of glucose intravenously. Coffey's left hand began to swell, felt numb and appeared blue, and hospital personnel said they believed the glucose had leaked outside of her veins, according to the court documents. Doctors eventually amputated two of her fingers and another part of her left hand.
Coffey's surgeon concluded that she would need a skin graft on her left hand where blood and pus continued to drain from her wounds, according to court documents. After this procedure, Coffey experienced shortness of breath, low blood pressure and a high fever, and tests indicated that she had a serious bacterial infection. Coffey died of a heart attack triggered by the infection on Nov. 27, 2005.
The doctor who performed the autopsy and other expert witnesses told the court that the wounds from her amputation were the most likely source of the infection, according to court records.
Francis Coffey and Deborah Aumand, executor of Coffey's estate, filed the lawsuit in 2006 in U.S. District Court alleging several instances of negligence. The plaintiffs claimed that medical staff had placed the wrong type of intravenous line into Coffey's arm, failed to recognize and properly treat the complications caused by the leaked medication and did not inform the attending physician of the situation.
Francis Coffey also claimed that he was distressed and suffered health problems as a result of his wife's death.
The plaintiffs' lawyers, Gary Richardson and Heather Burns, declined to comment for this article and said the family did not wish to comment.
Lawyers for DHMC argued during the trial that hospital staff did not provide poor quality medical care and denied there was any connection between the hospital's actions and Coffey's death.
"DHMC is obviously disappointed with the result of the trial given the clinical facts involved in the case," Jason Aldous, a spokesperson for DHMC, said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "Despite saving the life of the patient who was experiencing a complex and life threatening illness while at DHMC, the medical center feels it is being held accountable for uncontrollable circumstances which eventually led to her death months later."
The hospital does not currently plan to appeal the decision, Aldous said.
