A newly filed lawsuit alleges a woman died after waiting 10 hours to see a doctor at Des Moines' Iowa Methodist Medical Center. (Photo via Google Earth)for
The owner of two central Iowa hospitals and two of its physicians are now facing lawsuits over patient deaths and the alleged violation of federal laws governing emergency room treatment.
Two of the lawsuits are tied to patient care involving a man who allegedly died after twice being discharged from the emergency room at Central Iowa Hospital Corp.’s Methodist West Hospital, located in West Des Moines.
A third lawsuit stems from the death of a woman who allegedly waited 10 hours to see a physician at Central Iowa Hospital Corp.’s Iowa Methodist Medical Center, located in Des Moines, before going into cardiac arrest.
In two of the cases, the family of the late David Cibert alleges that on the evening of Jan. 11, 2023, Cibert went to the emergency room at Methodist West complaining of pain that he rated as a “13” on a scale of 1 to 10. Although he allegedly had a fever and low oxygen-saturation levels, and his pain did not respond to fentanyl, Dr. Rachael Sokol and others allegedly failed to provide a full and complete screening examination in order to determine whether Cibert had an emergency medical condition, and also ordered no labs or imaging.
Sokol allegedly discharged David from the emergency department shortly before midnight, writing that his condition was “good” – despite, one of the lawsuits claims, that he was still in severe pain, the cause of which hadn’t been determined.
Less than 12 hours later, Cibert allegedly returned to Methodist West’s emergency room, still in pain and with an accelerated heart rate. Emergency room physician Dr. Chase Deobald evaluated Cibert and ordered a test that allegedly showed an elevated white blood cell count. Deobald discharged Cibert at about 2:20 p.m., the lawsuit alleges.
Cibert returned home, still in “excruciating pain,” his family alleges in court filings. A few days later, on Jan. 16, 2023, he went to MercyOne’s West Des Moines Medical Center with the same complaints and symptoms while stating that he had not been able to move his arms or legs for six days. While there, he was diagnosed with acute polyarticular arthritis and the potentially life-threatening condition of septic arthritis.
He died on Jan. 19, 2023, allegedly from bacteremia — bacteria in the bloodstream — caused by sepsis and polyarticular septic arthritis.
“Had David received competent timely medical treatment, he likely would have survived,” his family claims in court filings.
A state-court lawsuit, which alleges medical malpractice in Cibert’s treatment, is scheduled for trial on Jan. 12, 2026. In that case, Methodist West, Sokol and Deobald have denied any wrongdoing.
A separate, federal lawsuit alleges that in treating Cibert, Methodist West violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, which requires hospitals to ensure that patients are stabilized before discharging them. The hospital has yet to file a response to that lawsuit and declined to comment on the case.
Lawsuit: Woman died after 10-hour wait in ER
Sokol and Central Iowa Hospital Corp.’s Iowa Methodist Medical Center are also defendants in a wrongful death claim recently filed by the estate of another patient, Amanda Kuhlman.
That lawsuit claims Kuhlman came to the Des Moines hospital on Aug. 23, 2023, where she was diagnosed with weakness, difficulty swallowing, incontinence and an elevated heart rate. Despite the severity of her symptoms, the lawsuit claims, Kuhlman would not be seen by a physician for nearly 10 hours, and only after she went into cardiac arrest while attempting to use the restroom with the assistance of the staff. She died several days later on Sept. 3, 2023.
According to the lawsuit, Central Iowa Hospital Corp. was cited several times for EMTALA violations in the years leading up to Kuhlman’s death. The first such violation was on Feb. 28, 2017, at which time the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the corporation that hospital patients had been placed in “immediate jeopardy,” the lawsuit alleges.
On Sept. 6, 2022, Nov. 29, 2023, and June 5, 2024, the hospital was cited for additional violations that resulted from EMTALA investigations, the lawsuit claims.
“Central Iowa Hospital Corp. has engaged in a persistent pattern of conduct of failing to provide medical screening examinations and stabilizing treatment for emergency room patients in its hospitals without unnecessary delay,” the lawsuit claims.
That lawsuit was recently moved from state to federal court. A trial date has yet to be set. Central Iowa Hospital Corp. said it does not comment on pending litigation.