A jury found an Iowa doctor liable for the death of a Scott County man

SCOTT Co., Iowa (KCRG) – This week, a jury found an Iowa doctor liable for the 2020 death of a Scott County man.

Steve Schwarz underwent surgery on his neck, but after a few weeks he began to deteriorate and later died. A jury awarded the man’s family $1.645 million.

“My dad was great, he was an honest family man,” said Heather Barrett, Steve’s daughter.

Barrett said her father was an active 67-year-old. He loved riding his UTV, taking road trips, and helping his nine siblings with work on the family farm.

He was a happy, fun-loving, fun guy to be around,” she said.

But in 2020, he began experiencing weakness in his arms and tingling that affected his daily life. Schwarz underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his spinal cord.

“We talked to him several times a day, and he seemed cheerful, and he seemed happy that it was over,” she said.

Schwarz had contracted MRSA while at UIHC before being released from the hospital to Cedar Manor in Tipton. Court documents show that Schwarz’s medical records stated he was taking antibiotics for the bacterial infection. Court records showed that his health took a turn for the worse while under the care of Dr. Michelle Sprengelmeyer. She was the doctor tasked with ensuring Schwarz continued to receive the antibiotic, but she failed to follow that order, according to the medical malpractice lawsuit. He went without that medicine for about 20 days and died.

“The sad thing about this is it should never have happened,” Anthony Bribriesco said.

Anthony and his father, Bill, represented Barrett’s family in the wrongful death lawsuit. They said the medical records showed the doctor failed to verify his medications, develop a reasonable treatment plan and recognize when Schwarz’s pain increased and his health deteriorated.

“Instead of doing your job and carefully reading the medical records, she signed off on an antibacterial that prematurely stopped his life-saving antibiotics,” he said.

Barrett said it wasn’t justice for her and her family, but at least Sprengelmeyer was held accountable for her father’s death.

“My father was an incredibly honest person who believed in responsibility, and so somehow at least we were given that sense of responsibility,” Barrett said.

TV9 contacted Dr.’s attorney. Sprengelmeyer for comment, but had not heard back by the time this article was published. Sprengelmeyer also no longer works at Cedar Manor in Tipton.

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