MANATEE COUNTY, Fla (WFLA) — A Manatee County mother of three wants someone held accountable.

Hailey Van Dam had an above-the-knee amputation, which she believes could have been prevented.

She claimed Manatee Memorial Hospital didn’t provide adequate care or act fast enough — causing her to lose her leg.

“My life has drastically changed, and even though I’m just grateful to be alive, but if I had the choice between my old life and my new life, I would go back to my old life in a heartbeat,” Van Dam said.

Van Dam lives in Palmetto with her husband and their three kids. Before her amputation, she would help them get dressed and ready for school; now, they’re helping her.

“I just remember being terrified,” she said.

 Doctors had no other option than to perform an above-knee amputation on Van Dam.

“Tampa General saved my life,” she said. “I could’ve died with how long they had all those clots in there. I could’ve died. I left that hospital with clots still in both of my legs.”

Days earlier, on the holiday weekend of July 2, 2024, Van Dam was rushed to Manatee Memorial Hospital after her legs went numb. It was determined she had an arterial blockage, known as acute leg ischemia. Patients with Van Dam’s condition need surgical treatment within six hours to save their leg.

“As soon as they found out, they didn’t have a vascular doctor because they weren’t on staff for whatever reason, they didn’t have somebody,” Van Dam said. “They should’ve sent me straight to Tampa General.”

By the next morning, Van Dam said Manatee Memorial’s staff realized they didn’t have vascular surgeons available, which the hospital’s CEO at the time, Tom McDougal, indicated would be provided on site 24/7 in the license application with the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

“On-site means you can get one there within 30 minutes of a patient need,” said Wes Straw, Van Dam’s attorney. “They couldn’t get one there within 30 minutes. Hailey was nearly there for 20 hours.”

Straw said it took Manatee Memorial almost 20 hours to figure out they couldn’t give his client, Van Dam, the care she needed. It took four hours to finally transport her.

It was only until she arrived at Tampa General Hospital, that Van Dam said a three-by-four centimeter tumor was discovered in her heart, which was causing the clots. A series of surgeries followed, and then her left leg was amputated.

“All hospitals should have some sort of limb loss protocol in place,” Van Dam said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

“We hope that the state comes in and tries to figure out what happened, and there could be fines, there could be licensure issues,” Straw said.
 
In a statement to 8 On Your Side, a spokesperson for Manatee Memorial Hospital wrote: “We do not provide comment on matters that are under active litigation.”

Straw filed a lawsuit for what they say was the Manatee Memorial Hospital’s inability to act, which forever changed her and her family’s lives.

“They shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Van Dam said. “They shouldn’t have to help me or have to worry about me or whether or not we can go play mini golf because mama can’t walk for too long or there’s nowhere for mama to sit.”

Van Dam’s husband is in the Air Force reserve. The amputation led to repeated falls at work, so she decided to leave, and now they’re in fear of losing their home.

In August 2024, Manatee Memorial Hospital announced a new CEO to replace former CEO Tom McDougal, who had been there since 2021. The hospital did not share why he left.