Hannah Waite died in Kindred Hospital in South Tampa on Feb. 14, 2015, from septic shock caused by a severe erosive ulcer in her small intestine. She had been transferred to the hospital after Tampa General Hospital doctors found the ulcer during an endoscopy and listed it as her most pressing medical issue.

At Kindred, a long-term acute care facility, she was placed under the care of Dr. Rabia Shaikh and Dr. Andrew Daley. But her condition went untreated for two months until she died, according to a lawsuit filed in circuit court in Hillsborough County.

Waite’s parents, Lesley and Andrew Waite, sued the two doctors and Advanced Care Hospitalists in 2017. No settlement was ever offered and the case went to a civil jury trial, said Steve Yerrid, an attorney who represented the Waites. The trial lasted eight days, with the jury deciding late Wednesday that Shaikh should be held responsible for 70% of the damages awarded and Daley the remaining amount.

An attorney for Shaikh and Daley declined to comment on the verdict, as did a spokesperson for ScionHealth, the company behind Kindred Hospitals.

Waite was admitted to Kindred on Dec. 11, 2014. Her discharge summary from Tampa General Hospital said an endoscopy was required by Jan. 5, 2015. But Waite never received the procedure at Kindred. Eventually, the ulcer perforated the small intestinal wall, meaning body waste was seeping into her blood, Yerrid said.

“That erosive process was allowed to go unchecked until it ate a hole in her GI tract,” Yerrid said, referencing her digestive system.

Instead of treating Waite’s ulcer, Shaikh and Daley treated Waite for constipation, nausea and vomiting caused by a drug that they were prescribing, Yerrid said.

“So they were treating the pain but not finding the source of the pain,” he said.

Waite’s parents, Andrew and Leslie, were awarded $30 million — $15 million each — for past and future pain and suffering.

“The worst loss that can occur to a parent is burying their own child. I think it is a loss of enormous magnitude,” Yerrid said. “The jury’s verdict reflects their appreciation of the magnitude of that loss to these very, very loving parents and loving family,”

Six years of litigation and the eight-day trial was a tough emotional journey for the parents, Yerrid said.

The trial included testimony of Hannah Waite’s pain levels, which she said were at 9 out of 10 during her final days. One day before Hannah Waite died, Shaikh sent her to a nearby hospital for a CT scan on her brain against the wishes of her parents who wanted her sent back to Tampa General for emergency care, according to the lawsuit. The scan was negative and the patient was returned to Kindred.

Hannah was her parents’ third child and their only daughter. The birth of a girl completed the family, Andrew Waite testified during the trial.

“They’re in varying stages of emotional relief that they got justice, but they’re also more aware than ever that their daughter’s death was unnecessary,” Yerrid said.

Times staff writer Jay Cridlin contributed to this report.

Tampa doctors must pay $30 million after woman, 23, died from untreated ulcer (tampabay.com)