Family of Florida Woman Files Lawsuit for Medical Malpractice, Elder Abuse and Neglect

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) August 30, 2016 – The family of a Florida woman is suing a medical center because they say that maggots crawled out of the woman’s mouth while she was in the intensive care unit.

The family says that medical records show that maggots were found in the mouth, nasal airway, and thigh of Dorothy Mooneyham, 75. The maggots were noted on three occasions, according to the documents. The medical center denied the claims. Mooneyham later died of complications of surgery for lung cancer.

“If the allegations are true, they certainly show that something went horribly wrong with this woman’s care,” said Robert Joyce, a Florida medical malpractice attorney with Joyce & Reyes, who is not involved in the case. “Whether the conduct of the defendants constitutes malpractice will be decided by the legal process.”

The Mooneyham family said that medical records indicated that hospital personnel saw maggots coming out of the woman’s mouth during a neurological assessment, and suctioned them out, but more maggots were noted the next day. In a third incident, a maggot was found implanted in the woman’s thigh and was removed, the family alleged.

Mooneyham was taken to the ICU after suffering a heart attack subsequent to surgery for lung cancer. She died weeks later in a hospice facility. The family is suing for emotional distress, medical malpractice and elder abuse and neglect.

The medical center called the allegations “outrageous and inaccurate,” but would not specify what they believed was inaccurate.

Attorneys for the Mooneyham family said that the incident was an example of something that “should never ever happen” in any hospital.

Learn more at http://www.joyceandreyespa.com Joyce and Reyes Law Firm, P.A. 307 S Hyde Park Ave Tampa, FL 33606 Call: 813.251.2007