There is nothing worse for a parent than to see their child suffering and know there is nothing in their power they can do to help him or her other than find appropriate medical care. Parents have to trust that the medical care professionals will provide adequate care for their child. The question for parents in North Carolina becomes, what happens when a doctor’s alleged failure to diagnose their child leads to permanent physical harm? The parents of one young girl are seeking justice in an alleged incident of medical malpractice by filing a case in civil court.
In summer 2011, a young girl was experiencing several different symptoms including stomach pain and a high temperature. Her parents took her multiple times to the emergency room and pediatrician’s office. However, the medical professionals could not determine what was causing her symptoms.
Eventually she became so severely ill that she required air transport to a children’s hospital. At this hospital, she underwent abdominal surgery to repair the effects of a ruptured appendix. Unfortunately during the surgery, she suffered several complications, at one time needing CPR for approximately 45 minutes.
While doctors were able to save her, the quality of her life has been significantly reduced. As a result of complications she experienced during surgery, one of her legs had to be amputated and her brain was severely and permanently damaged. Their suit requests well over a million dollars in damages to cover past care as well as an estimated $40 million in future care. Like these parents, parents in North Carolina who feel that a doctor’s failure to diagnose their child led to a decline in his or her physical condition can take similar legal action in a civil court.
Source:
newswest9.com, “Midland Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit Against Midland Memorial Hospital,” Alexa Williams, July 29, 2013