Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Ascension St. Joe's, 2 Doctors Defendants

JOLIET, IL — The family of Dennis Gossen, a 58-year-old man who died at the Ascension St. Joseph Hospital on Dec. 23, 2022, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ascension and two of the doctors, Dr. Bachar Hamad and Dr. Ram Natesh.

"Dennis was born in Joliet and lived here all his life. He graduated from Joliet Central High School and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Electrical Engineering," according to his obituary from Joliet's Blackburn Giegerich Sonntag Funeral Home. "Dennis enjoyed spending time with his family, taking his dogs, Buddy and Poe, to the dog park, motorcycles, fishing, grilling and collecting. He was an avid history and science fiction buff."

A spokeswoman for Ascension told Joliet Patch on Friday that they have not been served with the lawsuit, and she did not know anything about the case, so she would not comment on it.

According to the plaintiff's, Robert J. Napleton & Associates in Chicago, Gossen arrived by ambulance at Ascension St. Joe's at 9:38 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2022, where he was diagnosed with GI bleed, near syncope and a bleeding ulcer.

Gossen received care from Dr. Ram Natesch, a general surgeon, and Dr. Bacher Hamad, a surgeon with a gastrointestinal specialty.

The lawsuit accuses the two Joliet doctors and Ascension of negligence for failing to recognize the change in hemoglobin which was an indication of active bleeding, failing to diagnose bleeding in the Joliet man's stomach, failing to diagnose an actively bleeding duodenal ulcer; failing to perform immediate surgery and control the active bleeding and failing to perform an emergency endoscopy to diagnose the bleeding.

"As a result of one or more of the above negligence respects, Dennis Gossen sustained injury and death on December 23, 2022," plaintiff's lawyer Brian Fetzer declared in his lawsuit.

A decision was made to admit Gossen to the hospital following an evaluation by Dr. Natesh and Dr. Hamad, the lawsuit stated.

"After the decision to admit Dennis Gossen to the Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital, he was instructed to go to the waiting area to wait until a bed could be available," the lawsuit outlined. "Approximately at 3:18 p.m. sitting in the waiting area of the Emergency Department, Dennis Gossen came unconscious. Dennis Gossen was pronounced deceased at 4:25 p.m."

The autopsy confirmed that Gossen died because of the large bleeding duodenal ulcer, the plaintiffs informed Will County's court.

Gossen was survived by his wife, Michelle, and two children, Jessica Gossen and Jamison Gossen.

The plaintiffs provided Will County's court with a two-page affidavit from a board certified general surgeon who blamed Dr. Natesh and Dr. Hamad for negligence.

The medical expert's affidavit states that "everything about Mr. Gossen's presentation was consistent with a bleeding duodenal ulcer ... At the time of his admission, he was not stable. His hemoglobin was falling and he had a known bleeding ulcer. The standard of care called for immediate endoscopy and control of the bleeding. If this was unsuccessful, then angiographic embolization or surgical intervention could have been performed to stop the bleeding.

"The lackadaisical approach of Drs. Natesh and Hamad, which fell below the standard expected of them, deprived Mr. Gossen of the chance to be treated for his bleeding duodenal ulcer. Their negligence was the proximate cause of his death. The above opinions are given within a reasonable degree of medical probability."