The suit filed in Superior Court alleges that the clinic in East Los Angeles and Dr. Mark Maltzer are responsible for the wrongful death of Diana Lopez, 25, of Huntington Park.

A report by the state Department of Health Services concluded that the clinic did not follow established medical procedures during the abortion and it did not report Lopez's death within a required 24-hour period.

Both the Department of Health Services and Planned Parenthood said that the problems that led to the violations have been fixed.

In a prepared statement, Martha Swiller, acting president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, said the patient had developed unusual bleeding problems but was awake and alert before being taken to the hospital, where she died.

"Everyone at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles feels tremendous sympathy for this woman's family and we share their grief," Swiller said. "While abortion is extremely safe, this is a tragic reminder that, as with all medical procedures, some risk does exist."

Maltzer is still performing abortions at some of the 12 clinics in the Los Angeles area, but is under investigation by the Medical Board of California. The board's spokeswoman declined to say what the probe was about.

Lopez was about 18 weeks pregnant when the abortion was performed in February 2002. Within minutes, her cervix had been punctured during the operation and she began to bleed profusely, according to the state report.

Doctors were unable to control the bleeding. Lopez was taken to a hospital where an emergency hysterectomy was performed, according to a report by the Los Angeles County coroner. She died of trauma from the procedure, the coroner's report said.

The lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and Maltzer alleges that the doctor "worked so quickly, recklessly and negligently pulling out sharp body parts of Diana Lopez' 19-20 week-old unborn infant that severe, irreparable damage was done."

The suit also alleges that Maltzer failed to accompany Lopez to the hospital, nor did he speak with doctors there or with the Lopez family after she died.