Denison, Iowa-based Crawford County Hospital paid the widow of a patient who underwent a colonoscopy and later died from a severe infection $500,000, The Des Moines Register reports.
Here's what you should know.
1 The patient underwent a routine colonoscopy at the hospital. A surgeon accidentally tore the patient's colon during the procedure. The hospital scheduled a follow-up surgery the next day, but intestinal contents leaked into the patient's abdomen, causing a severe infection. The patient died eight days after the screening procedure.
2. The patient's widow sued the hospital in the following months. The hospital and the patient's spouse reached a settlement in April 2016.
3. The hospital released settlement documents Feb. 27, 2017, despite initially claiming the matter was confidential.