Woman suing hospital for malaria treatment

CHICAGO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A 34-year-old woman alleges in a lawsuit against Northwestern Memorial Hospital doctors at the Chicago hospital did not aggressively treat her malaria.

Dawn Dubsky alleges medical malpractice by Northwestern doctors allowed the malaria to seriously affect her physical condition, forcing amputation of her arms and legs, the Chicago Tribune said Thursday.

"They treated her as if she had simple, non-complicated malaria, and the evidence was to the contrary," said Jeanine Stevens, Dubsky's attorney.

Dubsky contracted malaria from a mosquito bite in February 2008 while visiting the West Africa republic of Ghana.

She maintains after returning to Chicago, she visited Northwestern's emergency room complaining of severe headaches and fatigue.

She alleges in her Cook County Circuit Court lawsuit that Northwestern care did not improve her condition and she was transferred within a week to University of Chicago Medical Center where her arms and legs were amputated.

The Tribune said Northwestern officials offered no comment on the suit, which is seeking unspecified financial damages.