When a Hospital Kills a Boy l Seattle Medical Malpractice Attorney

WARNING: This is a very tragic story.  The case is still pending so the names have been changed and/or omitted for privacy and to maintain confidentiality.

Valerie is a single mom of two boys aged 12 and 15.  Both boys are autistic.  The oldest, David, has the most severe form autism between the two.  He cannot speak, which is not to say that he cannot communicate.  He can.  He’s also exceptionally intelligent.  David struggled to learn how to do what most children can do easily: brush your teeth, comb your hair, dress, etc.  But Valerie was determined to work with David to make sure he learned.  David made remarkable progress with the help of therapists and counselors. 

To illustrate Valerie’s devotion and committment to her children, she also successfully sued the school district to make sure it complied with federal and state law by accommodating David’s special needs.  Because of Valerie’s efforts, the district made sweeping changes to how it accommodates special needs children.  Valerie’s efforts had a positive impact on many others in her community. 

Most of Valerie’s free time was spent meeting the needs of her children.  Autistic children require an enormous amount of work and dedication from parents.  Many parents will tell you that their relationship with the autistic child is exceptionally close, much closer than the typical parent-child relationship.

Part of Valerie’s parenting duties was to make sure her children’s medical and dental needs were met.  Valerie chose a very well-regarded and highly respected children’s hospital in Seattle to act as David’s health care provider, including the child’s dental needs.  Because of David’s autism, he often had to undergo general anesthesia so the dentist could perform an adequate examination and provide the care that was necessary.

Earlier this year Valerie took David to the same highly regarded children’s hospital she had been taking him for years.  This time it was to visit the hospital’s pediatric dental department.  David needed some teeth extracted.  A fairly routine procedure.  As was customary, David received general anesthesia so the procedure could be performed.  Everything went fine.

Upon discharge, Valerie informed the hospital’s staff that David did not tolerate oral pain medication. This fact has already been recorded in David’s chart.  He could not, and would not, take it.  She asked the dentist if there was another alternative, perhaps a topical pain medication.

The hospital’s dentist decided to prescribe a Fentanyl pain patch.  She apparently had never made this prescription before to any other dental patient of hers.  But if she had reviewed the FDA warnings for this drug, she would have learned that a Fentanyl patch should not be prescribed to children, unless that child has a history of opiate use or if the patient has had a history of chronic unremitting pain (like someone suffering from cancer).

Unbeknownst to Valerie, the dentist also decided to prescribe the highest dosage patch that the manufacturer produces – a 100 micro gram patch.  The drug also comes in a 25 mcg, 50 mcg, and 75 mcg patch.  Valerie was never informed about the lower dosage patches that exist.

Valerie made sure to ask the discharge nurse that the 100 mcg Fentanyl patch was safe and that the dosage was accurate.  As the mother of an autistic, Valerie was used to doing her “due diligence” when it came to making sure her children’s healthcare needs were met.  The nurse assured Valerie that the prescription was accurate and safe.

When Valerie visited the hospital’s pharmacy she again asked the head pharmacist on duty whether the prescription was safe and accurate.  The pharmacist again confirmed that everything was fine.  He instructed Valerie to apply the patch on the middle of David’s back to obtain the drug’s maximum effect.

Later that night Valerie applied the patch to David’s back to make sure he did not suffer any needless pain stemming from his dental surgery.  She went to bed.  Later that morning Valerie woke up to find David dead.  According to the coroner’s autopsy report, David had suffered respiratory failure due to an overdose of Fentanyl.  David was carried out of the home in a body bag by EMT’s.  David’s younger brother Trevor was severely traumatized by seeing what happened.  Trevor eventually refused to live in his mother’s home because of the memory of seeing his older brother declared dead.

The medical director for the hospital told Valerie that they had failed David.  He never should have been given a prescription of Fentanly, and certainly not the highest dosage patch available.  The county coroner referred Valerie to my office.  She was devastated over the loss of her child caused by the hospital’s error.

What is also tragic is that the day David died, he was scheduled to receive a computerized voice communication device.  This was to allow David to communicate more easily with others.  David’s teachers and therapists all state that with the aid of this software there was no telling how far David could have gone in life.  All of them say that they envsioned David becoming employed someday and living on his own.  This was a tribute to the hardwork and sacrifice that David accomplished with the help of his mother.

One of the experts I hired to review the case told me that in 25 years of working on medical negligence cases for both plaintiffs and defendants, David’s case was the most egregious (“black and white”) medical error he had ever seen.  The dentist never should have prescribed a Fentanly patch to this young boy.  There were at least 5 contra-indications (warning signs) according to the drug label and FDA warnings which would have informed a reasonably competent dentist that this drug should not be used on David.  Furthermore, the hospital should have caught the error upon discharge (the nurse should have known the prescription was wrong) and when the prescription was filled (the pharmacist should have known that the prescription was unsafe for David).

Valerie and her family are still grieving over the death of David.  Valerie feels guilty.  She feels like she alone failed David.  Although Valerie did everything she could do to prevent this horrible mistake, it still happened.

I write about this case now to help raise awareness about how medical mistakes can kill innocent people, including children.  David’s death never, ever should have occurred.  Yet it did.  And now a family has been devastated.

The law allows a parent to recovery compensation for the death of a child caused by a healthcare provider’s negligence.  But no amount of money will ever make up for what happened to David. Yet Valerie wants to make sure that no parent goes through what she has experienced.  The hospital broke the law, and as a result, her child is dead.  This should hever happen again to another family.  But if you were on the jury, how much money would you award to Valerie and her family for David’s death??

There is now recent discussion among our politicians, including President Obama, about limiting the rights of medical negligence victims in an effort to reduce the cost of healthcare.  Those efforts should be rejected.  David’s death is a perfect example of how medical errors kill.  If we limit the rights of victims to pursue negligence actions against healthcare providers, than there is no incentive to prevent mistakes and keep patients safe. 

Parents, please question your child’s healthcare providers if something does not seem right.  Even if you have to go straight to the top person in charge, don’t let a nurse, or doctor, or therapist dictate something that does not seem right for your child.  Although Valerie did more than what most parents would have done in her situation, she still feels guilty for not doing enough.  Even though she shouldn’t feel this way, it is a terrible burden that she will likely experience for the rest of her life.

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