Six-year old boy dies after misdiagnosis

Throughout Pennsylvania and the United States, patients everywhere put their trust in medical professionals every day. When errors occur, the results can be devastating for individuals and family members. This can be especially so when the error involves a child. An incorrect medication dosage, an instrument left inside a body after surgery, a doctor’s failure to diagnose a condition and more are all-too common examples of medical errors.

One Houston family must endure the pain and loss of their child due to an alleged misdiagnosis after a trauma accident. The little boy, who was six years old at the time, reportedly hit a pole on an elementary school playground and was taken to a nearby emergency room. While at the hospital, the boy underwent a kidney, ureter and bladder X-ray. The physician on duty told the parents he was constipated and should be taken home.

A few hours later, his worsened condition prompted the parents to call for emergency help. The boy died in an ambulance on the way back to the hospital. It was identified that he had suffered internal hemorrhaging and a lacerated kidney, neither of which had been diagnosed or treated by the emergency room medical staff. The parents have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against what they claim was a negligent physician and medical center.

Tragedies that involve the rapid death of a loved one, especially a young child, can leave extreme scars for those left behind. The ability to secure some form of compensation is important and can be one way that families can move forward. Working with the right attorney can help to make this happen.

Source: KHOU.com, “Lawsuit: Children’s Medical Center misdiagnosis led to boy’s death,” Janet St. James, February 24, 2014