Lawsuit: Untimely diagnosis turns appendicitis into brain damage

A father of a 6-year-old girl who almost died due to an alleged medical error said no parent should have to go through what his family did. His statement comes after the family filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against not only the hospital and a pediatrics association, but also three doctors.

In looking at what happened, the father claims that doctors kept telling his family everything was going to be OK and that their daughter was going to get better. However, these doctors supposedly did not realize the girl had appendicitis and needed immediate medical help.

Due to the appendicitis going untreated, she ended up having to go through emergency surgery when her appendix ruptured. During the surgery, the girl went into cardiac arrest several times and at one point CPR had to be performed for 45 minutes.

Now she has permanent brain damage and has lost a leg.

According to the lawsuit, which seeks more than $1 million, prior to the emergency surgery, for several days, the girl was brought to doctors and the emergency room several times due to abdominal pain, a racing heart beat, fever and other symptoms. However, the doctors failed to diagnose the girl properly.

In looking at a case such as this one, it is natural for parents to think about what would be different now had their child been properly diagnosed in a timely matter. Could she have been treated before her appendix ruptured? Would she have been able to recover without brain damage? Would she now just be a perfectly normal and healthy child?

In these types of cases where it is believed failure to diagnose in a timely matter led to a worsening condition, an attorney with experience handling medical malpractice cases should be contacted to look over the facts and see if there are grounds for a lawsuit.

Source: NewsWest.com, "Midland Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit Against Midland Memorial Hospital," Alexa Williams, July 29, 2013