$______ CONFIDENTIAL RECOVERY - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - PEDIATRICS - EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NEGLIGENCE - FAILURE TO TIMELY DIAGNOSE AND TREAT SEPSIS IN MINOR PATIENT WITH HEART CONDITION - BILATERAL BELOW-THEKNEE AMPUTATION OF 14-YEAR-OLD'S LEGS.

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$4,500,000 CONFIDENTIAL RECOVERY – MEDICAL
MALPRACTICE – PEDIATRICS – EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT NEGLIGENCE – FAILURE TO TIMELY
DIAGNOSE AND TREAT SEPSIS IN MINOR PATIENT
WITH HEART CONDITION – BILATERAL BELOW-THE-
KNEE AMPUTATION OF 14-YEAR-OLD’S LEGS.
Withheld County, MA
In this medical malpractice matter, the plaintiff alleged that he
suffered life-altering injury when the defendant emergency room
physician and the defendant pediatrician were both negligent in
failing to take the teen’s congenital heart condition and presence of
a replacement heart valve into account during their treatment of the
child when he presented with fever, chills and headache. The
defendants denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the child’s
prognosis would not have changed if they had administered
antibiotics to the child earlier. The defendants also disputed liability
and damages.
The 14-year-old came under the care of the defendant emergency
room physician when he presented with his mother with complaints of
chills, headache and high fever to the hospital. The mother had in-
formed the hospital that the child suffered from a congenital heart con-
dition and had undergone a heart valve replacement when he was a
toddler. The defendant diagnosed the child with stomach flu and sent
him home despite test results consisting of elevated white blood count
and severely low blood pressure, which were consistent symptoms of
sepsis.
The plaintiff’s mother then took the child to his pediatrician, only a short
time later. The child’s doctor determined the child’s vitals were normal,
diagnosed him with endocarditis, but failed to send him to the hospital;
instead, she discharged him home with instructions to take Tylenol and
return if the fever did not break. The following day, the child’s condition
continued to decline and the parents brought him to a children’s hospi-
tal where his triage indicated that he was in septic shock. He underwent
emergency surgery to remove and replace his heart valve, which was in-
fected. He was hospitalized for 4 months and ultimately underwent a bi-
lateral below-the-knee amputation of both legs and his right index finger
as a result of the sepsis.
The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant physicians alleging negli-
gence and seeking damages. The defendants denied the allegations.
The defendants maintained that there was no deviation from accept-
able standards of care. They maintained that there was no indication
that the child was in septic shock and, in fact, his vitals indicated im-
provement while in their respective care, which did not warrant addi-
tional testing or administration of any antibiotics.
The parties mediated the plaintiff’s claim and arrived at confidential set-
tlement of $4,500,000 as a result of the mediation.
REFERENCE
Teenager Doe vs. Defendant Pediatrician, et al., 02-15-21.
Attorney for plaintiff: Kenneth E. Lieberman in Northampton, MA.
Attorneys for plaintiff: Jeffrey N. Catalano, Christine Thompson and Lisa
Conserve of Todd & Weld in Boston, MA.
SUMMARIES WITH TRIAL ANALYSIS 3
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