This is a sad report about a Virginia women who sought cosmetic surgery (a “mommy makeover”) after the birth of her fourth child.
According to news reports of the medical malpractice case, Dr. Matthew Galumbeck and his staff allowed Maritess Lopez to go home an hour after her cosmetic surgery, even though she was having problems breathing. The 36-year-old homemaker had gotten a breast lift and augmentation, liposuction, and a tummy tuck because she wanted to make herself more attractive after having four children.
After returning home from Dr. Galumbeck’s office, Lopez’s daughter found her mother unresponsive in her bed. The autopsy showed she died of aspiration pneumonia, which occurred after the contents of her stomach went up her esophagus and down her trachea into her lungs.
A medical malpractice case was filed in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and a jury awarded Ms. Lopez’s family $1.95 Million.
My Take: $1.95M is a lot of money but is not an “even trade” for the life of a mother of four children.