In hospitals across Oregon parents pace anxiously while going through one of the scariest things they will ever endure — waiting while their children go through surgery. Parents of a little girl in another state had to endure that gut-wrenching wait multiple times after their 12-year-old had to have a heart transplant in 2007 and then an additional surgery to correct a problem in 2013. Their worst fears were realized when complications arose. The little girl, now a grown woman, has just been awarded $14 million in a medical malpractice suit against the doctors who provided her care.
After having a heart transplant, the girl had regular follow-up appointments. It was found at one of these appointments that a stent in her heart had broken. In the middle of an elective procedure to replace the stent doctors failed to have enough stents available and had to alter their treatment. The delay caused the surgery to last four hours — much longer than normal.
Prolonging the surgery was very risky for the patient and dangerously increased her chances of suffering a stroke. For four hours following the surgery the girl showed signs consistent with a stroke, but no action was taken to help her or stop the damage. When testing was finally performed confirming she had in fact suffered a stroke it was too late to help her. She suffered what will be life-long brain damage that causes her to need constant care and impaired her memory, cognitive abilities, speech and mobility.
Her parents filed a medical malpractice lawsuit on her behalf. She was awarded a total of $14 million. Her doctors were found responsible for her condition because they had put her at risk for a stroke by not being prepared and extending a surgery beyond a safe time limit as well as not identifying and treating her stroke in a timely manner.
If a child suffers as a result of the negligence of medical professionals, the child’s parents can file a medical malpractice lawsuit on his or her behalf. The repercussions of poor medical care can be extensive, both in loss of physical ability and financial hardship. An experienced Oregon medical malpractice attorney can assist the patient or the patient’s parents in seeking financial compensation to ease the burden caused by the inadequate medical care.