Family of Brooklyn mother who died after giving birth seeks justice
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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (PIX11) — Today marks one year since a Brooklyn woman tragically passed away shortly after giving birth at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull last November.
Loved ones of Christine Fields held a somber vigil outside the hospital Wednesday. Friends and family stood side by side holding flowers and candles, and embracing one another as they honored a life gone too soon. Fields' mother, Denene Witherspoon, has been grappling with the profound loss of her daughter.
“Sad, depressing — everything,” said Witherspoon. “I got a hole in my heart that’ll never be filled. My life will never be the same again. I miss my daughter so much.”
As loved ones mourn the void left in their lives, they release balloons in Fields’ remembrance. The family alleges the death of 30-year-old Fields was due to hospital staff not properly performing an emergency c-section and monitoring her condition after the surgery. A doctor at the hospital has since been fired following an investigation into maternal and infant deaths at the city-run hospital.
Following the investigation, a spokesperson for Woodhull says the hospital has revamped and enhanced their protocols across its obstetrics and anesthesiology departments.
Fields'fiancé, Jose Perez, is still haunted by the loss.
“A lot of grief,” Perez said. “A lot of anguish. It’s been a rough time.”
Perez has been relentless in his pursuit of justice, turning his grief into a mission to help others experiencing the same pain. He currently has an ongoing lawsuit against the hospital system and has been advocating for Governor Kathy Hochul to pass the Grieving Families Act.
The bill would amend the current law to allow families to sue for emotional suffering, rather than just financial loss. Perez expressed the financial burden that has come in the wake of Fields’ passing.
“Why should I rely on the community to help me with funds to continue to survive while I’m grieving,” questioned Perez.
Senator Brad Hoyalman-Sigal sponsored the bill and said in a statement:
"New York is out of step with almost every other state in the nation when it comes to our wrongful death statute and every day we do not act to update the extremely outdated 1847 law is an injustice to all New Yorkers, particularly families of color who are facing a maternal mortality epidemic."
The Grieving Families Act has already been vetoed twice by Governor Kathy Hochul, who has previously expressed concerns that the legislation’s language is too broad. When asked if she has plans to revisit the Act, a spokesperson for Governor Hochul said she is currently reviewing the legislation.