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Widow warns others in blog

Grief and shock over her husband's hospital care prompt her to act.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published March 18, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Distraught over the loss of her husband, Robin Shwedo did the only thing she felt she could do all by herself: Start a Web log.

"It's got to start somewhere," said Shwedo, 53, whose husband, Paul Middleton, died at 71 last year after what Shwedo says was poor care at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. "I thought at least I could start to get some of my thoughts down and have some people look at it."

Shwedo's Web log, or "blog" for short, may help her share her grief, but it also puts her at the cutting edge of technology and trials.

"You create blogs to create a public perception," said David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Visions, an Atlanta public relations agency that has helped plaintiffs blog to force action. "It puts pressure on the hospital to settle."

Johnson didn't work on Shwedo's case, but he said he's seeing more examples of similar cases. He said the idea is in its infancy but is catching on because it works. Others see technology encroaching from other sides.

"The Internet is invading the courtroom in 1,000 different ways," said Bob Kelley, a Fort Lauderdale attorney and author of juryblog.com. "It's really changing the way we practice law."

Kelley said he now has to ask prospective jurors about blogs and other Web activity, because he doesn't want to find out after a trial starts. He said a case with similar circumstances is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, because a serving juror blogged about the case.

At best, Shwedo said, she hoped the blog would warn others. She believes her husband's death was unnecessary, and she wants to sue the hospital, but she has had a tough time finding a lawyer. Medical liability suits are not always cost effective to pursue, Kelley said, so even if Shwedo's case makes sense to her, it might not to lawyers.

Shwedo, who lives in Pinellas Park, said she'd had problems at Northside before. So when her husband complained of breathing difficulty last October, she wanted to go elsewhere. She said emergency responders said he had to go to the nearest hospital, which was Northside.

Over the next several days, Shwedo said her husband received poor care, including an inappropriate injection for high blood pressure shortly before he was released. The hospital also didn't wheel Middleton out but got Shwedo a wheelchair and told her to take care of it. When she did, her husband fell in front of the hospital.

Shwedo said hospital staff didn't help but told her to call 911. An ambulance had to come to drive her husband to the emergency room on the other side of the hospital. He was readmitted, treated for abnormally low blood pressure, and died early in the morning Oct. 24.

The hospital issued a statement that declined to talk about Shwedo's claims because of privacy issues, but said the hospital "has policies in place that address the handling of quality and patient safety issues."

Shwedo details the events on her blog, but also mentions neighbors who have had similar problems.

She is cautious to make sure the entries are anonymous so the hospital wouldn't know who was complaining. She said she's not sure if the blog has been effective, but her case is gaining traction, and she may have found a lawyer.

"There's a lot of error here," said Joseph Camerlengo, a Jacksonville lawyer who is considering taking Shwedo's case, especially since she got a letter from the state's Agency for Health Care Administration confirming some of her allegations. "Rarely do you see cases with a finding from AHCA. Those you do you look at very closely."

Camerlengo said he hadn't found Shwedo online and is in fact worried about the blog. He said sometimes people write something emotional that could undermine a legal case. But he recognizes the potential of a blog.

Johnson said one case in Atlanta involved a blog that said a young boy lost his arm from poor hospital care. When the blog got attention, the hospital settled out of court. Another case had a corporation seek to have a blog shut down because of its effectiveness in shaping public opinion.

Shwedo said she is not sure what the blog or lawsuit will do, but feels she must act to prevent others' problems.

"If he had gotten great medical care, I could have lived with it," she said. "I just can't see letting it happen to someone else."

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.

On the web

To read the blog

www.northsidehospital problems.blogspot.com

[Last modified March 17, 2007, 20:24:26]