Medical Malpractice Costs Girl Limbs! Case Settles for $10 Million

The family of a two-year-old girl brought her to the hospital due to a fever which was weakening her slowly. It turns out this was due to a dangerous strep infection. However, she was left untreated at the hospital waiting room for five hours; FIVE HOURS! When staff finally came in to see her, she was suffering from septic shock-a very serious and commonly deadly condition.

The infection was so bad, she had to be flown out to another hospital! The bacterial bloodstream infection took a massive toll on her fragile body, and her feet, left hand, and part of her right hand all had to be amputated.

The hospital, which was not a New York hospital, agreed to pay $9 million in damages while the Emergency Physicians Medical Group will pay $1 million. Yes, the amount of money here is quite high but completely warranted. The money will go towards her current cost of living and case, while the rest will be given to her on a monthly basis when she turns eighteen in 2026.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time an incident like this has happened. Earlier this very month a homeless gentleman died from a bladder infection. He waited in a hospital emergency room in Canada for thirty-four hours. THIRTY-FOUR HOURS! A few years ago, a woman died from blood clots on the floor of an emergency room when she had waited for almost twenty-four hours. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS! Why does this continue?!

I understand that many hospital emergency rooms are understaffed, under-supplied, and over-utilized. However, there needs to be better triage and oversight here. Simple infections can be treated when caught early, but absolutely catastrophic when they aren't.

I recognize that this is a lot of money, but the severity of these injuries for anyone, let alone a young girl who has her whole life in front of her, is just simply upsetting. Her life has been completely changed and will never be the same; no amount of money can compensation that. Thankfully, her counsel and financial advisers look to have done a good job putting money in a trust so that the $10 million will continue to grow with interest properly; she will receive full benefit of trust law.

But what do you think? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@mmolaw.net. You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.