Hospital Complaint Dismissed

A deaf woman has lost her case against a Missouri hospital. Amanda Crider says when she was admitted for the birth of her child she told the staff at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital that she wanted to have a natural childbirth - no epidural or other pain medications. Yet nurses still gave Crider an epidural injection anyway. Crider says it was without her consent because she thought it was a medical necessity. This wouldn't have happened, according to her complaint, if the hospital had provided interpreters. To make matters worse, Crider says the injection left her in constant pain and disabling symptoms. A trial court dismissed her complaint, saying Crider did not file the right paperwork. An appeals court has just upheld that decision. Hospital lawyers refused to talk about the case.