NEWS / Ohio hospital allegedly fakes time of death on certificate to cover up fatal malpractice over routine heart procedure

The Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio, is under scrutiny over a botched heart catheterization of a 65-year-old, who ended up dying a few hours later. In true “Weekend at Bernie’s” style, the hospital allegedly tried to make the woman’s dead body look alive to her relatives and forged the time of death on her death certificate.

The devastating incident was reported by Scioto Valley Guardian editor-in-chief Derek Myers. The patient, whose identity was withheld, came to Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe, a small city 45 miles south of Columbus and erstwhile capital of Ohio, for a routine heart catheterization procedure.

According to some sources within the hospital, cardiologist Dr. Jarrod Betz, cut the woman’s artery during the surgery, but believed the situation was under control. However, the patient was later discovered to still be bleeding while she was in the Intensive Care Unit. A second surgeon, Dr. Atiq Rehman, was called in to rectify the situation. The patient was sent back to surgery, but died while Dr. Rehman was operating on her, according to medical records.

The patient’s time of death was recorded as 1:00 pm in the medical records, but the hospital allegedly brought out the patient’s body and propped it up to make it seem like the woman was still alive. The woman’s body was even reportedly connected to a ventilator to make it seem like she was still alive but in critical condition. The patient’s family was brought in around 3:05 pm, with Dr. Rehman urging them to make an immediate decision on pulling her from life support.

A death report was supposedly later filed with the Ross County Coroner, and a death certificate was eventually issued, indicating that the time of death was 3:05 pm, not 1:00 pm as previously stated in the patient’s medical records.

A nurse that requested anonymity told the Scioto Valley Guardian that the deceased patient may not have even needed the procedure in the first place.

Dr. Betz has previously been accused of lacking proper credentials, with 31 individuals reportedly coming out to support those claims. Dr. Rehman, in turn, was allegedly observed watching YouTube videos on medical procedures he was supposed to know but was evidently not familiar with. One of his patients allegedly ended up dying after one of those procedures.

Ross County Coroner Ben Trotter has also been accused of impartiality, as he is an employee of Adena, the company running the hospital. The patient’s family have therefore requested an independent autopsy.

A&M Logos International sincerely hopes that you or your family would never have to deal with such a horrific, but easily preventable incident such as this. If you need to retrieve a death certificate for your loved one, we are here to help you. We will also make sure to apostille or authenticate the certificate for use abroad if necessary. Call us today at (212) 233-7061 or e-mail us at info@apostille.us. You may also wish to check out our website.