OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska jury recently concluded that CHI Health was not at fault in the death of 47-year-old Aundrea Milnes, who died in a jail cell after receiving treatment at CHI Health-Creighton University Medical Center in November 2022. The case, which centered around the hospital’s discharge of Milnes following her complaint of severe abdominal pain, has sparked discussion about patient care and legal responsibilities.
Milnes visited the hospital during the early morning of Nov. 3, 2022, where she was examined by medical professionals who diagnosed her with menstrual cramps and subsequently discharged her. However, according to her family’s legal representatives, Milnes was actually suffering from a serious abdominal and intestinal condition.
Later that day, hospital reports indicated that Milnes returned, appearing at a different entrance approximately 25 minutes after being discharged. Described by her family as being in “severe and excruciating pain,” she was found lying in front of the east entrance of the hospital. The situation escalated when she refused to leave, prompting hospital authorities to call the police. Milnes was arrested for trespassing and booked into the Douglas County Corrections facility, where she was pronounced dead just before 3 p.m. that day.
The subsequent legal proceedings included a detailed investigation by a grand jury, which found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the involved officers. The medical staff at CHI Health and the hospital as a whole also denied any malpractice, asserting they had adhered to the necessary standard of care.
During the trial, which began on Jan. 21 and concluded nine days later, the jury concluded that Milnes had been medically stabilized before her release, as required under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The law mandates hospitals to stabilize patients with emergency medical conditions before discharge. Despite her tragic return and death hours later, the jury found that the hospital had complied with legal healthcare standards.
The case raises important questions about patient safety and the interpretation of medical stabilization under federal law. With Milnes’ death occurring mere hours after being deemed stable enough to leave the hospital, the community and medical professionals nationwide are prompted to reconsider how hospitals evaluate and discharge patients.
The outcome of this trial does not diminish the tragedy of Milnes’ untimely death nor the ongoing grief experienced by her family, who have been vocal in their distress and disbelief over the handling of her initial complaints by medical staff.
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