Medical Malpractice Negligence? 3 month child

[Jhon]

Hello, I need help or should i say advice on getting a lawyer.

Sunday Morning: Our 3 1/2 month child woke up with high fever, we gave our child tylenol for infants every 4-6 hours. Our child did not sleep liek regular at the most she slept was like 1 hour during all sunday and early monday.

Monday Morning 8am: We took our child to the clinic we normally go. is a community health center. We did not make an appoinment so we when ahead and told the lady at the front desk about our child, that she is having high fever for the last 24 hours and we want to see our child's doctor (pediactric) and that we did not make an appoiment. So she sed "is fine please check in". As us been the first ones in there since we arrive at 8am they call us in and the nurse took her temperture and weighted her and ask us the simptoms. So we explain to her she had High fever for 24 hours now we be giving her tylenol, she is not eating well, cries like in pain and make a "humm noise every time she breaths" kind of like a chest pain noice. So she took her temperture,weight, etc. Then she told us to go back outside at the lobby and wait there and that they will call us back in again so the pediatric will check her up.

After 30 minutes we saw people with appoiments coming in and checking in. So by 9am i stand up and told the lady at front desk when our child was going to be seen by her doctor the lady sed "pretty soon" so they call other people in and 15 minutes later a "nurse" came out and told us that there wasnt any room for us, that we needed to go down the hall to the emergency care area.

So she walked us down the hall with a peace of paper with our child information and told us to wait ther and she handed that piece of paper to the lady on the counter 5 mins after the lady calls me up and she says that she can not find our childs information on their system, and i sed "we were here in this clinic a few days after she was born and we was also here to get her 2 months old shots" So she says "well it will only take you 5 minutesto fill this paper work out" By that time I look behind my back and looked at my wife with my child crying, and alot of people waiting to bee seen. i was like o God how much longer untill she is going to be seen.

So 45 mins later we got called up and went into a room and a nurse practiosioner (or something like that) took a look to our child and she seemed nerveous and she was like going around the bed in order to check our child eyes, ears, motuh, etc. it seemed like it was to much for her like she was in training.

So she ask us for the simptoms, we explain everything again to her as we did earlier at the pediatric section. So she end up telling us "I don't see nothing wrong with her, a little red inside of one ear, but nothing to worry about, i dont see any teeth coming out. It maybe be a virus or something ".

So she told us to give our child motrin instead of tylenol that might work better. So i told my wife ok we will go and get it at the store right away. So I told the nurse do we get a receipt, she sed "no you are fine" So we left around 10:00am and gave her the medicine at 10:15am.

The temperture she had on the clinic was 1.1.9 almost 1.2. and before we took her to the clinic we gave her tylenol at 6am.


Monday from 10:15am and on we kept fighting the high fever, we manage to cool her down but after a few hours fever was back up again. So this went on and on all day and night, we did not saw her getting any better.

So next day Tuesday Morning less than 21 Hours after taking her to the clinic, I found our child dead on our bed next to my wife (wife was asleep, and I woke her up to tell her our child was no longer with us).

After that I called 911. etc. etc.!

PS.- Sorry for my typing. Also I have all records from visit to the clinic and I just recieved the results with the cause(s) of death.

We need help!
Thanks.

 

[army judge]

I am so sorry to hear of your little child's passing.

I pray that things will get better for you.

As far as legal advice, after you begin to feel better, speak with any local lawyer.

Right now, support each other and take it easy.

Your story is very sad.

 

[BayState]

Hello, I need help or should i say advice on getting a lawyer.

Sunday Morning: Our 3 1/2 old child woke up with high fever, we gave our child tylenol for infants every 4-6 hours. Our child did not sleep liek regular at the most she slept was like 1 hour during all sunday and early monday.

Monday Morning 8am: We took our child to the clinic we normally go. is a community health center. We did not make an appoinment so we when ahead and told the lady at the front desk about our child, that she is having high fever for the last 24 hours and we want to see our child's doctor (pediactric) and that we did not make an appoiment. So she sed "is fine please check in". As us been the first ones in there since we arrive at 8am they call us in and the nurse took her temperture and weighted her and ask us the simptoms. So we explain to her she had High fever for 24 hours now we be giving her tylenol, she is not eating well, cries like in pain and make a "humm noise every time she breaths" kind of like a chest pain noice. So she took her temperture,weight, etc. Then she told us to go back outside at the lobby and wait there and that they will call us back in again so the pediatric will check her up.

After 30 minutes we saw people with appoiments coming in and checking in. So by 9am i stand up and told the lady at front desk when our child was going to be seen by her doctor the lady sed "pretty soon" so they call other people in and 15 minutes later a "nurse" came out and told us that there wasnt any room for us, that we needed to go down the hall to the emergency care area.

So she walked us down the hall with a peace of paper with our child information and told us to wait ther and she handed that piece of paper to the lady on the counter 5 mins after the lady calls me up and she says that she can not find our childs information on their system, and i sed "we were here in this clinic a few days after she was born and we was also here to get her 2 months old shots" So she says "well it will only take you 5 minutesto fill this paper work out" By that time I look behind my back and looked at my wife with my child crying, and alot of people waiting to bee seen. i was like o God how much longer untill she is going to be seen.

So 45 mins later we got called up and went into a room and a nurse practiosioner (or something like that) took a look to our child and she seemed nerveous and she was like going around the bed in order to check our child eyes, ears, motuh, etc. it seemed like it was to much for her like she was in training.

So she ask us for the simptoms, we explain everything again to her as we did earlier at the pediatric section. So she end up telling us "I don't see nothing wrong with her, a little red inside of one ear, but nothing to worry about, i dont see any teeth coming out. It maybe be a virus or something ".

So she told us to give our child motrin instead of tylenol that might work better. So i told my wife ok we will go and get it at the store right away. So I told the nurse do we get a receipt, she sed "no you are fine" So we left around 10:00am and gave her the medicine at 10:15am.

The temperture she had on the clinic was 1.1.9 almost 1.2. and before we took her to the clinic we gave her tylenol at 6am.


Monday from 10:15 and on we kept fighting the high fever, we manage to cool her down but after a few hours fever was back up again. So this went on and on all day and night, we did not saw her getting any better.

So next day Tuesday Morning less than 21 Hours after taking her to the clinic, I found our child dead on our bed next to my wife (wife was asleep, and I woke her up to tell her our child was no longer with us).

After that I called 911. etc. etc.!

PS.- Sorry for my typing. Also I have all records from visit to the clinic and I just recieved the results with the cause(s) of death.

We need help!
Thanks.

First I want to express me deepest condolences on the death of your beloved child. I can't imagine the pain you and your wife are suffering at this time...

I do have a few questions for you...

Could you please clarify the age of your child? 3 months or 3 YEARS?

What was the temp before you gave your child Tylenol?

Are you being investigated for your actions by the police or CPS?

Are you or your wife being accused of medical neglect? If yes...For what specifically?

And if you could please list the Cause of Death?

Thanks You...

Again I am so sorry for your loss..

Bay

 

[Jhon]

First I want to express me deepest condolences on the death of your beloved child. I can't imagine the pain you and your wife are suffering at this time...

I do have a few questions for you...

Could you please clarify the age of your child? 3 months or 3 YEARS?

What was the temp before you gave your child Tylenol?

Are you being investigated for your actions by the police or CPS?

Are you or your wife being accused of medical neglect? If yes...For what specifically?

And if you could please list the Cause of Death?

Thanks You...

Again I am so sorry for your loss..

Bay

---

Thanks for your replies.

-She was 3 and a half months old.
- Temperture was 100.3 (under her armpit) sunday morning an hour later it went up a little more we went ahead and gave her tylenol. minutes later temperture drop to 99.8. We put some wet towels on her forhead and belly to keep fight the fever it seemed to worked only for an hour or so.

- No we are not being investigated by the sheriff or police department. They sed is a "closed case" no further investigation is needed, the sheriff told us at the hospital that we did the right thing by taking her to the doctor monday morning.

- We are not being accused of medical neglect.


- The cause(s) of death are written as follow.

VERDICT OF DEATH
(without Jury)

The death was caused by:
Probable sepsis/ unk
Necrotizing mediastinitis/ unk
Acute pleurisy of right lunk/ unk

Other significant conditions: Viral upper respiratory infection. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Manner of death was: Natural

We have Two more children,, one is 9 years old and a 6 year old, both females.



Thanks again.

 

[army judge]

If you are up to doing this right now, you should speak with an attorney of your choice.

You have a potential wrongful death or medical malpractice suit against the clinic and/or the medical practitioner that treated (or failed to treat properly) your child.

Most personal injury lawyers will take this case on a contingency basis.

You pay nothing up front.

They take their fee from your jury award.

What type of medical insurance do you have?

 

[Proserpina]

I'm dreadfully sorry for your loss.

But though I agree with at least having an attorney review your information, I must also add that the medical information you have provided suggests that the clinic may not have acted outside the standard of care; there are many conditions presenting with similar symptoms and quite honestly I can understand the actions of the clinic.

Did you consider the ER?

Again I'm so terribly sorry for your loss.

 

[Jhon]

If you are up to doing this right now, you should speak with an attorney of your choice.

You have a potential wrongful death or medical malpractice suit against the clinic and/or the medical practitioner that treated (or failed to treat properly) your child.

Most personal injury lawyers will take this case on a contingency basis.

You pay nothing up front.

They take their fee from your jury award.

What type of medical insurance do you have?

She had Medi-cal. We have taken all of our child's to that clinic.

 

[Jhon]

I'm dreadfully sorry for your loss.

But though I agree with at least having an attorney review your information, I must also add that the medical information you have provided suggests that the clinic may not have acted outside the standard of care; there are many conditions presenting with similar symptoms and quite honestly I can understand the actions of the clinic.

Did you consider the ER?

Again I'm so terribly sorry for your loss.

We did not considered the ER (Emergency Room), because the nurse practitioner told us it was nothing wrong with her that it could be just a virus and nothing to worry about. My wife and one of our other child had been in the ER in the past but again we follow the instructions as the nurse practitioner told us to do so. It just happened to fast and we couldn't believe she was gone after 20 hours been in the clinic.

 

[army judge]

She had Medi-cal. We have taken all of our child's to that clinic.

I thought something like that may have triggered your mistreatment.

This is the website of one lawyer that handles cases like yours.

http://www.benfogellaw.com/

I am sure you can find others, probably very close to you!

The worse part about this is the loss of your child's life.

Your story really gets to me.

Okay, you have a very good case against someone.

The state might even help you in pursuing this against the clinic and/or the medical practitioner.

You were given the run around, and they shuffled you and your child off to Buffalo and her tragic death!

Here are a couple numbers to Medi-Cal offices.

Medi-Cal might have a mechanism to help you.

What happened to you, your wife, your family, and your child should not happen in America.

Call these numbers and get yourself a lawyer.

Contact: 1-800-433-2611

Your local county services office might also be able to provide some helpful advice.

Reach out to them.

Your case is seemingly solid.

You need to get justice for what they did to your precious child.

 

[army judge]

We did not considered the ER (Emergency Room), because the nurse practitioner told us it was nothing wrong with her that it could be just a virus and nothing to worry about. My wife and one of our other child had been in the ER in the past but again we follow the instructions as the nurse practitioner told us to do so. It just happened to fast and we couldn't believe she was gone after 20 hours been in the clinic.

What you stated above can be considered one of the proximate causes of your child's death.

You relied upon the professional opinion of a licensed medical practitioner.

Your reliance on such advice isn't improper.

In fact, it is quite normal.

If you hadn't taken her to a clinic and wanted pray over her, that would change things.

You did the NORMAL thing, and sought medical treatment for this precious little girl.

She evidently did not receive proper care, because less than 24 hours later, your baby was dead.

Document everything you and your wife can remember.

Record names, dates, times, things people said, and keep all records you were given.

Your lawyer will need this information as he/she builds your case.

Those will be invaluable in getting justice for your child.

You'll learn (if you don't already know), that after the nurse practitioner examined your child, you should have been instructed to take her to a hospital ER.

Your case is very solid.

Do not give up or let people talk you out of getting justice for what was done to your baby!

Go get justice for your baby, when you are feeling up to the challenge.

That child wasn't given a chance, because that is how many people in need are treated in this country.

 

[Proserpina]

Army Judge -

Please do not raise unrealistic hopes with this OP who is already grieving.

We do NOT have nearly enough information and for you to be so adamant that there is a case is simply irresponsible.

Please. Don't do this.

You could be hurting this OP even worse.

 

[army judge]

Army Judge -

Please do not raise unrealistic hopes with this OP who is already grieving.

We do NOT have nearly enough information and for you to be so adamant that there is a case is simply irresponsible.

Please. Don't do this.

You could be hurting this OP even worse.

Please stop stalking me and my posts.

If your opinion differs from mine, post it.

We all have different opinions.

If you have something to contribute, then do it.

Or, here's a great idea, open up your own forum and then you can control, the content and the posters.

Barring that event, I'll continue posting my opinions ON THIS FORUM and people are free to heed or discount them.

 

[Proserpina]

Well, that said it all, really.

In big red letters, too. This isn't about you, or me, Army Judge. This is SUPPOSED to be about the welfare and wellbeing of people who need help. Try focusing on that instead.

OP - I sincerely apologize for the emotional upheaval this online drama may have caused.

Please, speak with local counsel if you wish.

 

[irish223]

The unfortunate thing is that just because your username is 'army judge' and your bio says retired judge, people assume that you are providing accurate legal advice.

Sometimes you don't. Further, when you're wrong, you can't admit it.

On top of that your editorializing gives the impression that posters have a guaranteed winner of a case, when in truth no one can guarantee that.

It's not fair to the people who come here looking for advice.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

First of all... my SINCEREST condolences to the OP. I don't know what I can even say to you that could make you feel any better than you must feel right now. There is a principle of the matter which I do understand is important to you and the hope that if such tragedy could be avoided, you would help another person and child do so by changing what procedure allegedly happened here.

Guys, gals... let's take a step back for a minute. Discussing law is inherently a sensitive subject. There are always questions of "right" and "wrong" although it's not always so clear since there is frequently a large "gray area" where practicality dictates what really happens.

If I may offer just an observation - and I'm happy to take this in PM or other manner - I think that stating observations and opinions right here in the open is probably sufficient for any poster to make an informed decision on what they believe. I try to answer a post when I disagree with "I respectfully feel differently since XYZ, etc." Whenever I've gone into court I've ALWAYS felt I was right... as did opposing counsel. At the end of the day the only one who was "RIGHT" (or better put "whose opinion mattered most" ) was the judge!!!

My thought - in any of these cases, it's good to call a lawyer and the truth is that for malpractice or personal injury cases, most are "free" and taken on a contingency basis. We provide free case reviews and referrals here too, the suggestions here are also good, the local Bar Association will be glad to do the same as well.

Bottom line: I think the OP will be speaking with a lawyer. At that time the lawyer will be able to best assess the case, if there is one. There is a tremendous amount of information we don't have, including whether any diagnoses were made in the interim. I don't know how probable cause of death was ascertained. I have no idea whether the child exhibited any severe symptoms at the time of the hospital visit. In virtually all the cases that I've managed dealing with personal injury/malpractice, the basic facts enabled a lawyer only to proceed to ask questions as to whether a case is worth investigating. On the surface, there certainly are many questions needing to be answered before a decision could be made. If you need addition help, I and others are glad to assist you in any way we can.

 

[Jhon]

First of all... my SINCEREST condolences to the OP. I don't know what I can even say to you that could make you feel any better than you must feel right now. There is a principle of the matter which I do understand is important to you and the hope that if such tragedy could be avoided, you would help another person and child do so by changing what procedure allegedly happened here.

Guys, gals... let's take a step back for a minute. Discussing law is inherently a sensitive subject. There are always questions of "right" and "wrong" although it's not always so clear since there is frequently a large "gray area" where practicality dictates what really happens.

If I may offer just an observation - and I'm happy to take this in PM or other manner - I think that stating observations and opinions right here in the open is probably sufficient for any poster to make an informed decision on what they believe. I try to answer a post when I disagree with "I respectfully feel differently since XYZ, etc." Whenever I've gone into court I've ALWAYS felt I was right... as did opposing counsel. At the end of the day the only one who was "RIGHT" (or better put "whose opinion mattered most" ) was the judge!!!

My thought - in any of these cases, it's good to call a lawyer and the truth is that for malpractice or personal injury cases, most are "free" and taken on a contingency basis. We provide free case reviews and referrals here too, the suggestions here are also good, the local Bar Association will be glad to do the same as well.

Bottom line: I think the OP will be speaking with a lawyer. At that time the lawyer will be able to best assess the case, if there is one. There is a tremendous amount of information we don't have, including whether any diagnoses were made in the interim. I don't know how probable cause of death was ascertained. I have no idea whether the child exhibited any severe symptoms at the time of the hospital visit. In virtually all the cases that I've managed dealing with personal injury/malpractice, the basic facts enabled a lawyer only to proceed to ask questions as to whether a case is worth investigating. On the surface, there certainly are many questions needing to be answered before a decision could be made. If you need addition help, I and others are glad to assist you in any way we can.

Thanks all of you for your replies.

I live in northern California (2 hours north from Sacramento).
Alot of friends have been telling me that it would be better to get a lawyer that is not local to better serve me. Two people that I know have told me that yes, I need someone that is not local that I should go like 3 hours outside my City in order to find a Lawyer who will do a better Job in my case (if it is one). for example: Sacramento, San Francisco, LA.

So I came here today to ask for Advice, and what direction should I take. I hired a lawyer before but for other reasons(tenant/landlord).

Thanks again!

 

[tpajet]

Time out everyone. In everyone's bickering back and forth, has anyone actually bothered to look at the listed cause of death?????

I am sorry for your loss.

Whether or not you have a case is still not clear, at least in my mind. You need to talk to a lawyer, and they need to get an expert medical opinion. As sated before, it very well could have looked like a much simpler infection. But from the cause of death listed, it is no wonder that your child died so quickly after being seen. Here's why:

---
Probable sepsis/ unk
Necrotizing mediastinitis/ unk
Acute pleurisy of right lunk/ unk

The second and third are an inflammation around the lungs, in particular the linings around the lungs. So the question is why. That takes us the the first thing on the list - sepsis. Sepsis is when you have a bacterial infection that has spread to the blood. Once this has happened it is a very serious, obviously life threatening condition. So this means your daughter had a bacterial infection of the lungs, or at least the outer linings of the lungs.

Here's the problems you may face in such a lawsuit. The first and foremost thing is you are going to have to prove that the clinic missed some sign of a bacterial infection. A bacterial infection of the linings of the lungs could have been mistaken for something else. I don't know exactly what symptoms she was having, and exactly what the doctor saw. But it's probably something that would have required a blood test to find, and depending on the symptoms she had, a blood test may not have been a normal course of action.

Secondly you may have to prove that even if the clinic figured out what was truly wrong, that they would have been able to save you child at all. The fever would have been caused by the sepsis, and by the time you got to the clinic she was already at least 24 hours into it.

The bad part is she had to have shown symptoms of the lung problems before Sunday - probably for a couple days, but sadly it may have seemed like a simple cold, so you might not have even realized just how serious it was.

There are several angles that make this a sad situation, but the one point that really makes it so is that it was a very serious illness that nobody, including yourselves knew was as bad as it was.

I would still talk to a lawyer, but you may not have a cut and dry case.