Most Oregon parents would agree that having a sick child is one of the hardest things they have ever dealt with. When children are sick, parents will do whatever it takes to try to make them better. Often that is a highly stressful situation as it can be very difficult to determine what the best course of action is. One mother regrets the decision she made when her toddler became sick. She blames the medical staff who treated the child for her daughter’s death, and she recently settled a medical malpractice lawsuit she filed against them.
In 2016 the mother noticed her 14-month-old was sick, so she took her to a federally qualified health center, a clinic that provides care regardless of income or insurance status. The mother informed the staff of the girl’s high fever, cough and tiredness. The little girl was seen by a physician’s assistant who diagnosed her with croupe. She gave the girl a prescription for steroids and sent her home.
A few hours later the little girl suddenly took a turn for the worst. Without warning she suddenly quit breathing. Her parents and paramedics worked to revive her, but it was determined she had suffered severe brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. The little girl was put on a breathing machine and tragically passed away a few hours later.
The mother regrets her decision to take her daughter to that clinic. She says that if she had taken her to the emergency room instead she would likely have survived. She sued the physician assistant for medical malpractice. She claimed the physician assistant didn’t provide adequate care, nor did she recommend the little girl be taken to the emergency room. The toddler’s family was awarded $750,000 for their loss.
Children don’t come with an instruction manual. When children aren’t able to express their needs and feelings it can be difficult to determine the best course of action to take for them. Parents that feel their children have been treated negligently by medical staff can contact an attorney familiar with Oregon medical malpractice laws to discuss their options. Not only can a successful medical malpractice lawsuit provide financial benefits, it can also help spark change that will prevent another from suffering the same fate.