Las Vegas hospital sued after 24-year-old woman dies of 'septic abortion': Report

 The family of a woman who died of a septic abortion are now suing Dignity Health – St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Las Vegas as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.

Alyona Dixon, 24, died on September 28, 2022, less than a week after she sought help from a Planned Parenthood clinic for a medically induced abortion, according to KLAS-TV. Just four days after the visit, she went to St. Rose Dominican's Blue Diamond campus in Las Vegas with what was characterized as a "sharp" lower abdominal pain that had started the day prior.

After a few tests were run, Dixon was discharged on September 26, according to the lawsuit. She was subsequently told to follow up with a gynecologist, and to go to the emergency room if her symptoms worsened.

She ultimately paid the emergency room a visit around 11:00 p.m. on September 27, with reported vaginal bleeding. The physician there described her condition as the following: "abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, severe dehydration, acute renal failure, leukocytosis, sepsis, lactic acidosis, hypokalemia, sinus tachycardia, metabolic acidoses, pulseless electrical activity, respiratory failure.”

After providing treatment to Dixon and noticing that her symptoms had improved, the physician then got approval to transfer her to a Clark County hospital. However, her condition quickly worsened and she was kept at Desert View, according to the report.

Her heart rate quickly rocketed to 150 beats per minute and she reportedly experienced trouble breathing. Doctors tried to intubate and sedate her as a result. At one point during the procedure, she vomited and her heart stopped. Attempts to resuscitate her failed, and she was declared dead at 5:32 a.m. on September 28.

The cause of death was provided by the Clark County Office as "complications from septic abortion."

The lawsuit the family has brought against Dignity Health claims that they should have noticed the severity of her condition on September 26 and properly treated her, per the report.

The lawsuit seeks payment of Dixon's medical, funeral, burial expenses, special damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages — all of which amounts to more than $15,000 in total. The suit also seeks general compensation for Dixon's husband and son.

The report noted that the lawsuit was filed by Kimball Jones and Mark Rouse of Bighorn Law.

“The death of Alyona Dixon was tragic and devastating for her young family,” Rouse said Friday.

“Alyona loved kids and hoped to one day operate a kid’s play center. Unfortunately, she will never have that opportunity. We believe the evidence will show that Alyona’s death was preventable and that the defendants should be held accountable for their conduct.”