Iowa father dies after doctor makes unfathomable error after surgery, lawsuit claims
An Iowa family is blaming doctors for the death of their father after they say his medical team failed to give him life-saving antibiotics.
Steve Schwarz, 67, underwent spinal surgery in March 2020 to treat back pain, but two months later, he returned to the hospital with red swollen skin.
Doctors diagnosed him with MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a serious bacterial infection resistant to many antibiotics that infects about 80,000 Americans a year.
They prescribed him the powerful antibiotic doxycycline, which is used to kill the bacteria, and discharged him to an inpatient care home with instructions for him to keep receiving doses – typically given via injection – for two to three months.
But, the lawsuit claims, his doctor at the home, Dr Michelle Sprengelmeyer at Cedar Manor in Iowa, did not follow the instructions and discontinued his medication — allowing Mr Schwarz’s infection to spread and he to rapidly deteriorate.
When he was rushed back to the hospital three weeks later, doctors were shocked by how his infection had progressed. They contacted the care home and realized he had not received his medication.
He was moved to hospice care at the hospital, and died four days later on June 22, 2020.
His case was revealed late last year after his daughter, Heather Barrett, sued the doctors over his treatment. While it was not ruled that Mr Schwarz’s death was directly caused by not getting doxycycline, a jury awarded her $1.65million in damages because her father did not receive the care he needed
Pictured above is Steve Schwarz, 67, with his daughter Heather Barrett. The former welder died after doctors discontinued antibiotics for his serious bacterial infection
He is pictured above again with his daughter. His family has won $1.65million in damages over the death following a lawsuit
MRSA is a serious bacterial infection that plagues many hospitals because of the heavy use of antibiotics and vulnerable patients there.
It kills about 11,000 Americans every year, or just over one in eight who are infected.
But the infection can be cleared with careful monitoring and the use of powerful antibiotics.
Studies suggest about 80 percent of patients treated for MRSA after spinal surgery survive.
Symptoms often start as a swollen, red and painful wound that is warm and painful to the touch and is accompanied by a fever.
Mr Schwarz’s daughter described her father as ‘thriving’ when he first arrived at the care home and expected him to be home within two weeks. But instead, his condition began to decline rapidly.
His daughter Ms Barrett described her father as ‘thriving’ and someone who would regularly ride ATVs and take cross country road trips
Mr Schwarz contracted the bacteria after he was admitted to the hospital for spinal surgery
Ms Barrett told local media outlet KWWL.com: ‘When he was finally transferred [to the hospital], the infectious disease experts at the University of Iowa Hospitals were shocked that they had discontinued his antibiotic and that no one had followed up on his MRSA diagnosis.
‘We didn’t learn about it until that moment and literally I think it was an hour or two later… my dad was placed on hospice care.’
She added in a release: ‘It’s difficult to reason that a common infection took [my dad] down. He rode ATVs, hopped in his car for cross-country road trips to surprise us [in California].
‘He was a strong, active man who was just starting to enjoy his retirement.
‘We thought he was getting the care he needed after surgery. It didn’t make sense that he wasn’t improving.
‘It was too late when we discovered the infection wasn’t being treated with antibiotics. It was awful, my dad deserved better care.’
Mr Schwarz is much missed by his family and friends
His daughter’s lawyer, Anthony Bribriesco from Bribriesco Law Firm, said: ‘We are pleased that the jury held Dr Sprengelmeyer accountable.
‘In preparing for this case, we learned that the overall success rate for treatment of spinal infection involving hardware with suppressive antibiotics is nearly 80 percent.
‘A simple, well-known treatment of antibiotics would have save Steve’s life.’
Over time, if MRSA is not treated, the bacteria can spread to the bloodstream and reach vital organs like the heart, where it can cause endocarditis — when the heart’s lining and valves become inflamed.
It can also trigger sepsis, a life-threatening condition where the immune system over-reacts to an infection and causes organs to shut down.
DailyMail.com reached out to Dr Sprengelmeyer and Cedar Manor for comment ahead of publication, but did not receive a response.
