Persistent Abdominal Pain Ignored, Lack of Basic Blood Screening
This severe medical dispute began in early May 2023. A 48-year-old woman living in Jaen, Spain, repeatedly sought medical help at the emergency department of Hospital San Juan de la Cruz in Ubeda due to symptoms including severe abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, and nausea.
However, over a period of nearly a month, the hospital failed to show due vigilance toward her symptoms. Subsequent investigations revealed that the emergency doctors neither arranged for a comprehensive biochemical blood test nor referred her to a relevant specialist for in-depth diagnosis, merely prescribing conventional painkillers for symptomatic treatment.
Severe Infection Indicators Disregarded, Patient Forced to Discharge
As her condition continued to deteriorate, the patient was rushed to the emergency room again after suffering sudden dizziness and a fall. Clinical test data at the time showed that her high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) level had soared to 394, a highly abnormal indicator strongly suggesting a severe acute infection in her body.
Regrettably, the attending physician failed to correctly interpret this critical pathological signal. Instead of investigating the high-risk infection, the hospital misdiagnosed the physical discomfort caused by the fall as a “rib soft tissue contusion” and used this as a reason to discharge the patient directly to recover at home.
Cyst Perforation Triggers Diffuse Peritonitis, Delayed Treatment Leads to Tragedy
Just hours after being forced to discharge, the woman had to call an ambulance to return to the hospital due to unbearable, severe abdominal pain. Only then did the hospital confirm through detailed examinations that her true cause of illness was a perforated endometriotic cyst, which had deteriorated into fatal diffuse peritonitis.
Although the hospital urgently scheduled emergency surgery that night and transferred her to the intensive care unit for resuscitation, the severe infection had already caused irreversible damage to her body due to the missed optimal intervention time. Ultimately, the 48-year-old patient tragically passed away in June 2023 from multiple organ failure.
Health Department Admits Medical Negligence, Pays 250,000 Euros in Settlement
Following the incident, the legal team of the Spanish Patient Advocacy Association (El Defensor del Paciente) intervened in the case, holding the medical management authorities accountable on behalf of the deceased’s family. The representing lawyer clearly pointed out during the case assessment that this fatal misdiagnosis tragedy could have been entirely avoided if the hospital had followed standard protocols to perform a basic blood test during the patient’s initial or subsequent visits.
Faced with conclusive evidence, the insurance company underwriting the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) ultimately chose to admit to severe negligence and causal liability in the public healthcare service’s diagnostic and treatment process. The two parties subsequently reached an out-of-court settlement, with the health department paying a total of 250,000 euros in financial compensation to the deceased’s family, thereby avoiding a lengthy judicial litigation process.
