YOUNGSTOWN — A North Lima man his suing a doctor, a radiology company and St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, alleging wrongful death of his wife last year while under care for brain aneurysms.

Ronald Gengler Jr. filed the suit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, naming Dr. Eric R. Cohen, Ohio Imaging Associates of Columbus and the hospital as defendants.

The suit states his wife, Karey Sue Gengler, 46, first went to St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital for sudden onset of a severe headache Dec. 3, 2018, leading to a diagosis of two small cerebral artery aneurysms. She was transferred to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where Dr. Cohen performed an interventional radiology procedure to treat the aneurysms.

He used equipment owned by St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and its parent company, Mercy Health, to see the aneurysms.

During the procedure, the equipment malfunctioned at least two times, “rendering it impossible for (Dr. Cohen) to visualize various aspects of his treatment of the aneurysms while the equipment, video monitor(s) and / or computer(s) were malfunctioning,” the suit states.

During the procedure, an aneurysm ruptured “due to improper treatment and / or the malfunction of the equipment,” the suit alleges. As a result of the rupture, Karey Sue Gengler, suffered a brain bleed and died the next day, the suit states.

Dr. Cohen “failed to recognize that he had caused a rupture of the aneurysm” the day of the procedure and “failed to take the appropriate measures to stop the bleeding and / or alleviate increasing pressure on Mrs. Gengler’s brain.”

The day of the procedure, Dr. Cohen advised Ronald Gengler that his wife was stable, and he could go home and return the next day. The next day is when Ronald Gengler Jr. learned his wife had suffered irreversible brain damage during the procedure and “was effectively brain dead,” the suit states. She was pronounced dead Dec. 7.

Jonathon Fauvie, Mercy Health spokesman, said the company cannot discuss pending legal matters. Calls to Dr. Cohen and to Ohio Imaging Associates were not returned.

The suit seeks at least $25,000 in damages from Dr. Cohen, Ohio Imaging Associates and Mercy Health.

The suit was filed by attorneys Norman Moses and John Ausnehmer of Boardman.

erunyan@tribtoday.com