Family demands investigation after woman dies at New York Hospital

29-year-old Denise Williams went to Queens Hospital Center to seek treatment for postpartum depression.

48 hours after being admitted, the young mother unexpectedly died and now her family is demanding answers.

What Happened To Denise Williams?

Just a few weeks after the 29-year-old gave birth to her second child, she had sought emergency psychiatric care at Queens Hospital Center for severe perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD), often referred to as postpartum depression.

On Aug. 30, two days after Williams was admitted to the facility, Williams’ mother Linda Magee received a call from an unknown 212 number.

The coroner on the other end of the line informed Magee that her daughter had died and that she needed to come identify the body.

After that phone call, obtaining information about Denise’s death would become cumbersome.

New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Queens Hospital, and the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation refused to provide Magee with information about what happened to her daughter.

After protests and media pressure, New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation finally released information and said Denise Williams died from a pulmonary embolism — a blood clot that traveled to her lungs.

Denise Williams sought treatment for depression but ended up dead

Questions are being raised on the nature of Williams death and the care she received while at Queens Hospital.

Denise Williams experienced some of the most severe mental and physical health complications that a new parent can experience in the first weeks of her fourth trimester — the 12-week period immediately after giving birth.

By the time Williams was able to seek emergency psychiatric care at Queens Hospital, after weeks of suffering without treatment, hospital staff missed the physical condition that ultimately killed her.

Black maternal mortality rates

Her death highlights what Williams’ family and many birth justice advocates consider to be huge gaps in maternal health-care policy, particularly on postpartum care.

In New York City alone, Black women are eight times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts.

At least four Black women, including Williams, have died giving birth or within the first 42 days postpartum since the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early March 2020.

Black women in New York are also more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, and studies have shown that on average women of color are less likely to receive treatment for disorders like PPD.

Demanding justice

On Nov. 14, Williams’ family and a coalition of birth justice activists held their fourth rally for Denise outside Queens Hospital Center.

Williams’ family wants the state to investigate her death and for the hospital to release the autopsy report.

Abe George, the lawyer representing the family, said he and the family will decide whether to move forward with a lawsuit pending an expert’s review of Williams’ medical records.

“We don’t want condolences, we want answers,” said Charlene Magee, Williams’ maternal aunt.

Charlene Magee said that she and the rest of Williams’ family won’t stop fighting for the families of Black women who have died in New York City hospitals.

“We don’t want Denise to be ignored,” Magee said. “We are going to be out here every day. You’re going to hear from our family.”

Denise Williams left behind two daughters. The family has created a GoFundMe to her help daughters.