‘Everybody in that hospital failed her’: An emergency C-section, a mother’s death and a family’s search for answers
Everybody in That Hospital Failed Her: The Griego Case
Cybersecarmor.com – Everybody in that hospital failed her. That is the verdict Ashley Griego’s family reached after she walked into Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque on the evening of November 12, 2023, carrying a diaper bag, a breast pump, and a spare outfit for the baby she expected to meet that night. Hours before, she had spent the afternoon repainting a bedroom into a nursery for her two-year-old son. She kissed the toddler goodbye at his great-grandmother’s home — their first overnight separation — and drove to the hospital in what her husband, Jerry Griego, recalls as pure joy. She danced in the parking lot. She cracked jokes. She was, in his words, being her “silly self.”
What the Lawsuit Alleges
By 9:05 p.m., the situation had deteriorated. Griego’s contractions were arriving at an alarming pace. Buckingham & Vega Law Firm, representing her estate, alleges that Lovelace Hospital System staff administered a large dose of Cytotec — the brand name for misoprostol, a drug routinely used to stimulate labor — at precisely that moment. According to the complaint, the medication intensified her contractions to a degree that triggered a cascade of complications, culminating in an emergency cesarean section from which Ashley Griego never recovered.
The Griego case is not an isolated incident. Since 2011, at least 21 families have brought suits against Lovelace, most citing delayed cesarean deliveries and resulting infant injuries. In January 2026, another family added a new dimension to the controversy, alleging that the hospital “systematically disenfranchised, intimidated and ignored” nurses who raised patient-safety concerns internally.
Lovelace Women’s Hospital, which describes itself as one of New Mexico’s leading maternity facilities, has responded by pointing to its volume and performance metrics. In a public statement, the hospital noted it has cared for families through more than 45,000 deliveries over the preceding 15 years — the same span during which these lawsuits accumulated — and asserted that it “consistently performed better than national benchmarks on key maternal and newborn quality measures.”
The Night, Minute by Minute
The scheduled induction initially proceeded as planned. Then, in the words of Jessica Peralta, Ashley’s mother, “everything went wrong.”
The complaint details that Griego developed uterine tachysystole — a condition in which the uterus contracts more than five times within a ten-minute window, compared with the typical two to five contractions in that interval. Excessive uterine activity can restrict oxygen delivery to the fetus or alter its heart rate, making close monitoring critical.
At 9:05 p.m., the lawsuit states, Griego received what it characterizes as a “large dose” of Cytotec. The drug’s FDA labeling warns that it “can induce or augment uterine contractions” and identifies uterine tachysystole as a major adverse effect of obstetric use, noting it “may progress to … amniotic fluid embolism.”
“It felt like there were a lot of different opinions and there were a lot of suggestions to… speed things up,” Jerry Griego recalls. “Like they were trying to get us in and out.”
Jessica Peralta says the labor did not feel normal to her daughter, yet nursing staff repeatedly reassured her that everything was within expectations. Jerry Griego adds that his wife’s concerns were “being ignored and pushed to the side.” For the family, the pattern was unmistakable: everybody in that hospital failed to act on the warnings their daughter was giving them.
From Distress to Delivery
At approximately 2 a.m., fetal heart tracings indicated that the baby’s heart rate had slowed. Eighteen minutes later, a physician ordered an emergency cesarean section. The baby boy was delivered at 2:28 a.m. The lawsuit alleges, however, that during the procedure Griego suffered an amniotic fluid embolism — a rare but often fatal event in which amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream, triggering sudden cardiovascular collapse, clotting failure, and respiratory distress.
Ashley Griego did not survive the night.
Expert Context on Cytotec Dosing
Kathleen Green, an OB-GYN at Maven Clinic who is unaffiliated with either party in the litigation, offered clinical perspective on the medication at the center of the dispute. She confirmed that misoprostol is a standard component of labor induction endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, but emphasized that “different accepted doses and routes of administration” exist, meaning the label “high-dose” depends on the actual quantity given, the method of delivery, and how frequently it was repeated.
“The risk of tachysystole can increase with higher doses, which is one reason appropriate dosing and monitoring are important,” Green said.
She added that the tachysystole risk is well documented in obstetric literature and that close fetal monitoring becomes essential once uterine activity exceeds the normal threshold. Whether the dose administered to Griego crossed that threshold remains a central question in the ongoing litigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cytotec and why is it used in labor? Cytotec is the brand name for misoprostol, a prostaglandin medication routinely used to induce or augment labor. It stimulates uterine contractions and is endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as a standard induction agent when used at approved doses.
What is uterine tachysystole? Tachysystole occurs when the uterus contracts more than five times in a ten-minute window, compared with the typical two to five contractions. It can reduce oxygen delivery to the fetus and alter fetal heart rate, requiring intensified monitoring.
What is an amniotic fluid embolism? It is a rare obstetric emergency in which amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream, triggering sudden cardiovascular collapse, clotting failure, and respiratory
