Indiana State Sen. Tyler Johnson, MD, is facing a wrongful death lawsuit following the death of a woman who allegedly died less than an hour after Dr. Johnson, an emergency department physician, provided treatment, according to a March 16 report from The Indianapolis Star.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2022, alleges that 20-year-old patient Esperanza Umana had a heart attack resulting in her death because of Dr. Johnson's treatment.
The lawsuit seeks damages from Dr. Johnson and his employer, Professional Emergency Physicians, and Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Hospital for burial and funeral costs and care costs for Ms. Umana's son.
Ms. Umana was taken to Parkview in 2018 with a 105-degree fever, trouble breathing and purple face dots.
"The defendants exacerbated Ms. Umana's respiratory distress by overloading her lungs with four liters of fluid and violated the standard of care by prematurely discharging Esperanza from the emergency department in an unstable condition," court documents allege.
A hearing is scheduled for April 24.