Minnesota Jury: Hospital Owes $4.6M After New Mom Died

October 25, 2010

A Wright County, Minnesota jury has awarded $4.6 million to the family of a new mother who bled to death after a cesarean section.

Claudia Calcagno of Albertville died hours after her son was born in 2008 at Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital, which is now New River Medical Center.

An attorney for her family argued that her doctors could not operate to save her life because the hospital did not provide enough blood for a transfusion. The family’s attorneys said the blood was available in the hospital refrigerator.

The hospital says it believes its workers followed the orders of doctors on the day that 36-year-old Calcagno died. It says it may appeal the jury verdict.

The jury found that neither doctor was negligent.

Information from: Star Tribune