Carly Faye Urdiales v. Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center, Inc. d/b/a Ascension St. John

Let’s get one thing straight: in the world of medical malpractice, there are blunders, and then there’s blaming a woman for her own ruptured fallopian tube because she dared to trust her doctors. That’s the jaw-dropping reality in Urdiales v. Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center, Inc., et al., where a woman didn’t just suffer a medical catastrophe — she was allegedly shamed for it. Carly Faye Urdiales went to the hospital with an ectopic pregnancy, a condition so dangerous it can kill you if not treated correctly, and instead of getting clear, urgent care, she got mixed messages, delays, and ultimately a medical disaster that left her with an ileostomy bag and a $150,000 lawsuit. Oh, and somewhere along the way, someone — we’re looking at you, Dr. Thompson — reportedly told her the whole thing was kind of her fault. Because apparently, when your fallopian tube explodes and your bowel gets punctured, the real problem is noncompliance. Sure, Jan.

Carly Urdiales isn’t some medical mystery patient who showed up out of the blue with vague symptoms. She was a woman with a known history — she’d already survived one ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. That’s scary enough on its own, but here’s the kicker: after her first ectopic, she only had one fallopian tube left. One. Singular. And she still wanted to have children. So when she showed up at the emergency department at Ascension St. John Jane Phillips in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in March 2024, she wasn’t just worried — she was terrified. And rightly so. Her symptoms pointed straight to another ectopic pregnancy, and with only one tube, losing it wasn’t just a setback — it was a potential end to her dream of biological motherhood.

The hospital, a network of corporate medical entities including Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center and various Ascension Medical Group subsidiaries, responded by putting her on methotrexate — a drug used to stop the growth of ectopic pregnancies without surgery. That’s a valid option, if it’s monitored closely and if the patient is fully informed about the risks and alternatives. But according to the lawsuit, that’s where things started to go sideways. For nearly a month, Carly kept returning to the ER with worsening symptoms — intractable pain, vaginal bleeding, vital signs tanking. Any medical professional worth their stethoscope knows these are red flags screaming “this is going south fast.” But instead of sounding the alarm, the doctors allegedly downplayed the urgency, telling her surgery was just “one option,” like she was choosing between a root canal and a filling. They didn’t emphasize that waiting could mean rupture — a life-threatening emergency. They didn’t make it clear that her one remaining tube was literally ticking like a time bomb.

And then — boom. On April 12, 2024, her fallopian tube ruptured. No surprise, no mystery — this was the exact complication they were supposed to prevent. She was rushed into emergency surgery, but by then, the damage was catastrophic. During the operation, her bowel was perforated — meaning a hole was poked in her intestines — which allowed fecal matter to spill into her abdominal cavity. That’s not just gross; it’s a recipe for sepsis, organ failure, and death. So she had to go under the knife again for a second emergency surgery, this time to create an ileostomy — a bag on the outside of her abdomen to collect waste because her digestive system couldn’t function normally. She ended up in the ICU, but even that wasn’t enough care, so she had to be transferred to St. John in Tulsa for a higher level of treatment. Imagine going in for a manageable condition and coming out with a major abdominal reconstruction, a medical device you didn’t ask for, and a body that’s been through literal trauma — all because someone couldn’t be bothered to say, “Hey, you need surgery. Now.”

So why is she suing? Because this wasn’t just bad luck — it was allegedly a cascade of negligence. The lawsuit claims medical malpractice, which in plain English means the doctors and nurses failed to meet the basic standard of care that any reasonable medical professional would’ve provided in the same situation. They didn’t properly monitor her, didn’t communicate the urgency of surgery, and didn’t act when her condition clearly demanded it. And because the hospital and clinics are being sued too, the claim includes vicarious liability — a legal way of saying, “Hey, you hired these people, trained them, and let them practice under your name, so you’re on the hook too.” There’s also a shot across the bow for punitive damages, which aren’t about covering costs — they’re about punishment. The suit argues the behavior was so reckless, so indifferent to human life, that it deserves to be financially slapped in the face. That’s why Carly’s asking for $150,000 — $75,000 in actual damages (for medical bills, pain, lost wages, etc.) and another $75,000 in punitive damages. Now, is $150,000 a lot? In the world of medical malpractice, it’s barely a rounding error. Big malpractice cases often settle for millions. But here’s the thing — this isn’t about the money. It’s about the message. $150,000 is a starting bid, a way of saying, “This was wrong, and we’re not just going to let it slide.”

And then there’s the real kicker — the part that makes this case feel like a bad episode of Grey’s Anatomy written by someone who hates women. The filing doesn’t spell it out, but the hook does: the doctor allegedly blamed the patient for her own complications. Now, we don’t know exactly who said what, but given that Dr. Ruth Thompson is named in the suit — twice, once as an individual and once as her own professional corporation — and given the timing, it’s not hard to connect the dots. Imagine being in excruciating pain, bleeding, scared out of your mind, doing everything you’re told, and then being told it’s your fault when everything goes wrong. That’s not medicine. That’s gaslighting with a stethoscope. It’s the medical version of “you should’ve known better” when you were literally following orders. And it’s terrifying because it’s not even that rare. Women, especially women of reproductive age, are too often dismissed, minimized, and blamed for their own suffering in medical settings. Pain is “emotional.” Symptoms are “exaggerated.” And when things go wrong? Surprise — it’s the patient’s fault for not being “compliant” enough, for not pushing harder, for not knowing more than the person with the medical degree.

So here’s our take: the most absurd part isn’t just the medical failures — it’s the arrogance. The idea that a team of doctors, nurses, and medical systems could let a preventable rupture happen, cause a bowel perforation, require two emergency surgeries, and then have the audacity to suggest the patient was somehow responsible? That’s not malpractice. That’s a culture problem. And while $150,000 won’t fix Carly’s body or give her back that one precious fallopian tube, maybe it’ll make someone pause before they shrug off a woman’s pain again. We’re rooting for accountability. We’re rooting for the patient who did everything right and still got failed. And we’re rooting for the day when “I told you so” from a doctor is replaced with “I’m sorry.” Because in a case like this? Sorry would be a start.