Your Morning Matters: A medical malpractice lawsuit against Mercy Health

Good morning and welcome to your Morning Matters — with "Editor 2.0" Justin Dennis.

It's Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, and today we're bringing you the story of 70-year-old Petra Marquez, an Alzheimer's patient taken to the St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital ER last November. According to a new civil lawsuit, she wandered out of the hospital and onto Market Street. She was hit by a truck and later died.

Who was watching out for her? Petra's son was the one who brought her to the ER, but he wasn't allowed to stay with her due to new COVID-19 rules. The lawsuit argues the burden of care was on St. E's and they failed.

Does this happen often? The attorney handling the Marquez family's lawsuit against Mercy Health and more than a dozen of the Boardman hospital's personnel told us he's never had such a case in his 40 years at law.

• Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2016 estimated medical error was the third-leading cause of death in the nation, behind heart disease and cancer. But a more recent look from Yale School of Medicine suggests such estimates are much too high — but that those deaths are most often caused by "poor monitoring or management of medical conditions" among other diagnostic or procedural errors.

What happens next? The case was assigned to Mahoning County Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum's court. But many of the defendants in the civil suit still haven't been served with the complaint — including Mercy Health. We couldn't reach their spokespersons for this story. Read MORE here.

Pandemic facts

• In the U.S.: 47,414,651 confirmed cases; 767,324 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine at 8 p.m. Nov. 17.
• In Ohio: 1,620,436 confirmed or suspected cases; 25,813 deaths.
• In Pennsylvania: 1,654,063 confirmed cases; 32,633 deaths.
• In the Mahoning Valley: 33,354 confirmed or suspected cases in Mahoning County; 25,025 in Trumbull; and 15,615 in Columbiana.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Closed at 5,931.05, down 211.17 points, or 0.58%.

Other matters

When it comes to Mahoning County and the 2021 high school football playoffs, Ohio's other 87 counties are green with envy. In all, 56 teams are competing for the 28 regional crowns this weekend. Mahoning County still has four teams alive. Mahoning Matters

School districts could set their own training requirements for employees they choose to arm under legislation approved by the Republican-controlled Ohio House on Wednesday. Mahoning Matters

A victim shared the harrowing details of what led to her kidnapping from a Family Dollar store Tuesday night. WFMJ

Salem City Council is moving forward with drafting legislation that is expected to increase the time frame for its Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. Business owners say the trial went well and helped attract business. WFMJ

The Boardman Local School Board is taking the court fight over a mask mandate to federal court. The board maintains federal court has jurisdiction in the case since the parents' group is claiming the mandate violates federal law and constitutional rights. WKBN

The latest data from the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers' Association shows sales of new and used vehicles by auto dealers in the Mahoning Valley last month were off 26 percent from October 2020 with 4,012 deliveries. The Vindicator [May encounter paywall.]

The Western Reserve Port Authority will soon take possession of the former Republic Steel property along Pine Avenue in Warren, officials announced Wednesday. The Business Journal May encounter paywall.]

In case you missed it

President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package into law, promising billions in new funding for Ohio to fix roads and bridges, expand access to high-speed internet and continue removing harmful lead water pipes. We broke down the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including how much money Ohio can expect. Mahoning Matters

Your comments matter

"13 billion for roads in Ohio ... expect 80% to go to Columbus/Franklin County."

— Tony Pacic, on the state of Ohio being expected to receive $13 billion from President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure package.

Registered readers can comment on a selection of our stories, and all readers can comment on stories on our Facebook page. Opinions published here do not reflect the views of Mahoning Matters.

Event of the day

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society's Bites and Bits of History lunchtime program is returning to the Tyler History Center, 325 W. Federal St., Youngstown, at noon. Traci Manning, MVHS curator of education, will present "Youngstown and Ohio at Gettysburg." The presentation is free.

To see what else is going on around the Mahoning Valley, check out Mahoning Matters' event calendar here, or click the Events tab on the top menu at mahoningmatters.com.

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This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Your Morning Matters: A medical malpractice lawsuit against Mercy Health."