Mom of 3 died in emergency room lobby after waiting hours to see doctor, lawsuit says
When Cheyenna Costello arrived at a Washington hospital with stomach pains, she was assessed as “critically ill” and in need of immediate medical attention, according to a new lawsuit.
Despite this, the “vibrant, much-loved” 41-year-old mother of three was left to wait in the emergency room’s lobby at Providence Regional Medical Center on Nov. 2, 2022, the lawsuit says. There, she was placed in a wheelchair because no seats were available.
After more than four hours of waiting to see a doctor, Cheyenna Costello began having seizures and died from an “easily treatable condition,” according to a complaint filed Oct. 12 in King County Superior Court.
A coroner’s report said she “had acute and chronic (pancreatitis) with pseudocyst resulting in probable” irregular heartbeat, the complaint says. Pancreatitis occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
If Cheyenna Costello had received medical care sooner, her condition could’ve been diagnosed and “staff would have had enough time” to treat her, according to the complaint.
Now Sean Costello, Cheyenna Costello’s husband, is suing Providence Regional Medical Center over her death.
The lawsuit accuses the hospital of leaving her to “languish” in the emergency room’s lobby until she died, the complaint shows.
“The ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to make sure that no other family experiences such a tragic loss under similar circumstances at Providence Everett,” attorney Marlena Grundy, who is representing Sean Costello, told McClatchy News on Oct. 16.
McClatchy News contacted Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, about 25 miles north of Seattle, for comment on Oct. 16 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
After Cheyenna Costello’s death, Kristy Carrington, the CEO of Providence Swedish North Puget Sound, which includes Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, said in a statement that “we are deeply saddened by this incident and our deepest sympathies are with the patient’s family and loved ones,” according to the Everett Herald.
‘Hole in our hearts’
The evening of Nov. 2, Sean Costello called 911 after Cheyenna Costello started having extreme stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea, the complaint says.
First responders from a Snohomish County Fire District arrived and transported her to the hospital’s emergency room at 7:19 p.m., according to the complaint.
Upon intake, a registered nurse assessed her condition as a level 3, which is considered “urgent,” the complaint says.
A doctor also recorded her condition as “critically ill with significant risk to decompensate and even death, requiring prompt bedside evaluation and intervention,” according to the complaint.
As a result of her initial assessment, a nurse ordered a comprehensive metabolic panel be immediately conducted to assess her electrolyte levels, the complaint says.
However, this test wasn’t conducted until five hours later, after Cheyenna Costello had already died, according to the complaint.
The test showed she had low potassium — an imbalance that could’ve been corrected if she received medical care soon enough, the complaint says.
“The thought that just getting a lab result and acting on it could have saved this woman’s life was heartbreaking to me,” Grundy told MedPage Today.
The lawsuit accuses Providence Regional Medical Center of negligence and seeks to recover general and special damages, the complaint shows.
Cheyenna Costello’s mother, Tricia Nelson, described her daughter’s death as an unexpected event that has left “a hole in our hearts,” according to a GoFundMe page she organized to support Sean Costello and his children.
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Mom of 3 died in emergency room lobby after waiting hours to see doctor, lawsuit says."
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