Woman dies after hospital thought she was faking her sickness

16:00 - 21 January 2016

A Florida woman who collapsed and later died after being arrested may have lived if medical staff and police had not assumed she was faking illness.

A Florida woman who collapsed and later died after being arrested may have lived if medical staff and police had not assumed she was faking illness, her lawyers said on Wednesday.

Barbara Dawson, 57, complained of abdominal pains at Calhoun Liberty Hospital in the Florida, but medical staff examined and released her saying she was faking a sickness.

When she refused to leave, the hospital called the police, who handcuffed her and took her outside, where she collapsed in the hospital driveway. Dawson was returned to the hospital but died of a blood clot in her lungs the next day.

"Barbara Dawson should not have lost her life because of a bad assumption," Daryl Parks, a lawyer and civil rights activists told Reuters.

At a news conference, lawyers representing Dawson's family released a police voice recording of the incident.

"You hear them insisting that she is going to jail. You also hear hospital personnel repeating to her, 'There's nothing wrong with you,' as she continues to be in distress," said Benjamin Crump, one of the family lawyers, referring to hospital staff.

He said the arresting officer can be heard saying he suspected Dawson was feigning loss of breath.

The hospital declined to release further details on the woman's condition during the ordeal, citing privacy concerns.

The Dec. 21 death is now under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Blountstown Police Department and the state Agency for Health Care Administration.