Questions have been asked after the Monday death of 57 year old Florida woman, Barbara Dawson after being physically forced to leave against her will from a Blountstown hospital after pleading to be readmitted.
The woman’s death would come as she was being escorted by police in handcuffs when she collapsed as she was being led into a police patrol car, only to die two hours laters.
According to a report via the Tallahassee Democrat, the woman pleaded having difficulty breathing when the hospital had the woman arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing upon refusing to leave the hospital.
Only a few hours earlier, Dawson had arrived at Calhoun Liberty Hospital via ambulance Sunday night after experiencing stomach pain along with the woman telling she was having difficulty breathing.
From there Dawson was admitted, treated, and discharged hours later after being cleared by hospital staff.
Why staff cleared Dawson whilst the patient maintained that she did not feel well is yet to be fully understood.
Since Dawson’s death, Blountstown Police Chief Mark Mallory said on Wednesday that the medical examiner determined that Dawson died from a blood clot from being overweight.
Responding to Barbara Dawson’s death, the woman’s aunt, Angela Donar who had arrived at the hospital with her niece told Florida CBS affiliate WCTV: ‘They didn’t do what they could,’
‘I told them, ‘Y’all done killed her.'”
Upon Dawson collapsing, the arresting officer removed the woman’s handcuffs and took her back into the hospital.
The hospital says staff checked her vitals multiple times and found her to be stable, but a doctor readmitted her anyway, at which time she still had a pulse. Nevertheless within two hours, Barbara Dawson would be dead.
That though is not the way Donar saw it, with the aunt claiming that a doctor hadn’t been able to detect a pulse before Dawson was taken back inside the hospital, and that hospital staff didn’t try CPR until Dawson was back inside.
Reacting to Dawson’s death, Dale Landry of the Florida chapter of the NAACP told: ‘We strongly believe the death was due to negligence by the police department and hospital.’
Relatives insist that Dawson had pleaded for hospital staff to return her oxygen tank, with administrators responding that she did not need it.
Whilst being escorted off hospital premises Dawson repeatedly pled for her oxygen tank.
The Dawson family lawyer said it was baffling why officials did not let the ailing Dawson stay in the hospital.
Told Tallahassee lawyer Daryl Parks: ‘The most reasonable thing to do is to let her sit there and be able to settle down until she felt well,’
‘Instead, she is forcibly removed and put in cuffs. The early facts of this case should cause a great concern for everyone.’
Police Chief Mallory said that authorities were told after Dawson returned to the hospital ‘her vital signs were good and it was their decision to readmit her.’
Since Dawson’s death, administrator and CEO of the 25-bed hospital,Ruth Attaway said they ‘did their best trying to save’
Adding: ‘Our staff was very aggressive with her treatment.’
Donar said that Dawson has clashed with hospital personnel in the past.
Elaborated the aunt: ‘If they bring her some medicine, she wants to know what it is, what it is for. They just get mad at her,’
‘If she don’t think it’s right, she’s going to tell them and they don’t like that.’
