The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has reached a $1.2 million settlement with the family of a 16-year-old who died in 2020.
Emma Nugent was a City High student who “was evaluated over a period of time in 2020 through the UIHC Influenza-Like Illness COVID-19 program,” according to a report delivered to the State Appeal Board of Iowa.
On July 6, 2020, Nugent “became unresponsive and died despite extensive resuscitation efforts.”
Death caused by “pulmonary embolism”
Doctors determined that Nugent died from a pulmonary embolism.
Nugent’s parents later filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the University of Iowa.
The lawsuit alleged that “personnel failed to meet the standard of care” by not ordering more extensive diagnostic testing that they believe would have led to an early diagnosis and treatment of the embolism.
There was “expert support” that hospital staff “acted within the standard of care,” with recognition that additional testing “may have been helpful in an early diagnosis.”