Pennsylvania Hospital Sued Over Uninsured Man’s 2011 Death

The widow of a man who died of diverticulitis has sued a Pittsburgh hospital and four of its doctors for not operating on him, allegedly because they knew he didn’t have insurance.

Susan Manko, a spokeswoman for UPMC Mercy hospital, says the defendants extend their sympathies to the family but “deny the allegations.”

Attorney Jason Luckasevic and the man’s widow, Robin Tillman, say 40-year-old Dorian Tillman was treated for 15 months before he died Dec. 16, 2011. That happened when a pouch that formed in his lower intestine burst, sending waste into his abdomen.

The lawsuit contends at CT scan that doctors canceled the day before Tillman died would have revealed the problem and the fact that surgery was necessary. Luckasevic says he was “shocked” to see that Tillman’s medical records note he was not insured.