Paramedics told a 33-year-old pregnant woman she was having a panic attack. Then she died

A Phoenix Fire Department paramedic told a 33-year-old pregnant woman she was having a panic attack when she fainted twice and claimed she could not breathe, according to a lawsuit filed against the city.

The next day, she was hospitalized for a blood clot in her lungs. She died two weeks later. 

The Phoenix City Council has agreed to pay the woman's widower and surviving children $1 million in a settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Phoenix Fire Department.

The family also sued the Dignity Health hospital doctor and other staff members who treated the woman the day before paramedics were called and similarly dismissed her symptoms.

That part of the lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in January, according to the family's attorney. 

Because litigation is ongoing, the family declined to comment, according to their attorney Charles Slack-Mendez.

The Phoenix law and fire departments also declined to comment.

A bronchitis diagnosis

On March 14, 2016, 33-year-old Vicki Kitelinger, who was 17 weeks pregnant, went to a Dignity Health hospital in Glendale. She told doctors she'd had a cough and shortness of breath for about a week.

The doctors determined Kitelinger's heartbeat was much higher than it should have been, especially while pregnant, according to court documents.

The doctor and medical staff who treated Kitelinger never asked her if she had a family history of blood clots, according to court documents.

She did. Both her father and sister had a history of blood clots and Kitelinger had a history of varicose veins.

According to court documents, doctors diagnosed Kitelinger with bronchitis and sent her home with an Albuterol inhaler.

'Only a panic attack'

Not long after Kitelinger returned home, she fainted twice and told her daughter she couldn't breathe. 

Her daughter called 911 and told the operator about her mother's condition. The girl broke down crying on the phone and pleaded with her mother to stay awake, according to court records. 

Paramedics arrived at the house a few minutes later in a fire truck. An ambulance to transport Kitelinger never arrived, and it's unclear if one was ever dispatched, according to court records. 

Kitelinger's husband, Jorge Guzman Alvarez, speaks limited English, so his daughter translated for him and the paramedics. 

The paramedics evaluated Kitelinger and determined it was "only a 'panic attack'"  and she did not need further medical treatment, according to court records.

Through his daughter, Alvarez asked if he should take his wife to the hospital on his own.

One of the paramedics told Alvarez that he did not need to take Kitelinger to the hospital and said, "what you should do is change the battery to the smoke detector because it was beeping."

The paramedics told Kitelinger to call her primary care physician the next day about her elevated blood pressure and left.

Correct diagnosis came too late

The next day, Kitelinger did as she was instructed and went to her primary care doctor.

Her doctor determined that she was severely ill and, because of her family history of blood clots, he feared she may have a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in the lung, according to court documents.

Kitelinger was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was evaluated and quickly moved to the intensive care unit.

When she arrived at the ICU, her heart failed and she lost her pulse for more than 10 minutes, according to court documents.

Kitelinger did not recover, and her fetus could not be saved. She was placed on comfort care until her family agreed to take her off life support on March 29, 2016.

Family sues city, doctors

Shortly after Kitelinger's death, Alvarez sued the city of Phoenix and the paramedics who reported to their home, along with Dignity Health and the doctors who treated Kitelinger at the hospital.

He sued both entities on behalf of himself, Kitelinger's three children and her parents.

In the lawsuit, Alvarez's lawyer argued that Kitelinger may have survived if the doctors at the hospital and the paramedics who came to their home had properly assessed her symptoms and diagnosed her ailment.

"The failure to assess and transport (Kitelinger) caused her to lose her only chance of survival," the lawyer alleged, referring to the Phoenix paramedics.

Phoenix agreed to settle the claims against the fire department outside of court. The council approved a $1 million payment to Alvarez and his family in August.

The family's attorney said the lawsuit against Dignity Health and its employees is ongoing and scheduled for trial in January.

Reach the reporter at jessica.boehm@gannett.com or 480-694-1823. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS. 

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