Question

  11/01/12, 4:04 pm
Hello, I have three children, all of which have been very sick for about a week now with what turned out to be Croup. I took my youngest, who is two, into see a doctor at his clinic when I was concerned that his symptoms had increased dramatically over 24 hours. The doctor came in, said that he looked fine (despite having a low pulse ox) and told us he couldn't help. He then said to "come back" when my son "got sicker". During the visit I brought up the fact that I thought my son was dehydrated, wasn't eating much, or drinking as much as he should be, no less than four times. Each time the doctor just said "he looks fine". That night my son was very ill, up all night coughing until he vomited multiple times. By the next morning I called and insisted on seeing another doctor at a different clinic location. When we went to the appointment my son was groggy and "floppy" and at the end of the appointment began having a febrile seizure. We were taken to the hospital via ambulance and he was treated for severe dehydration and fever-- all of which BOTH doctors we saw should have, but did not catch. My son is recovering and has not seized since, but had I not insisted on seeing the second doctor, my two year old child could have aspirated in his crib, or car seat and died. Legally, what can I do? I'm not sure if that's a case or not, but I feel like the first doctor at the very least should get a strike on his record for this. He turned away a two year old child and didn't even recognize the signs of dehydration, even when I pointed them out to him!!!!! I don't think this guy should be treating patients. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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United States   |   Colorado  |  Medical Malpractice Law
Cost: Free

Answer

Christopher Kendrick Says:

Nov 02,2012 1:40 PM

This is a negligence issue. The questions that remain after reading your post, make it impossible to give you sound legal advice, with respect to whether you have a claim. However, you should in fact, keep gathering as much information as you can regarding who saw your child and when and keep records of timelines and statements of doctors. In the event you do have a claim, this information will be vital. One of the hurdles in this case will be, that assuming you can prove negligence, you have to ask, what are your damages. Hopefully, your child is improving well and has no permanent injury from this incident. If so, your damages will likely be minimal. If not, you definitely should seek an attorney for, at the very least, a consultation to see what remedies are available. When asking about a "mark" on the doctor's record, you would need to file a complaint with the Department of Regulatory Agencies at the following internet link: http://www.dora.state.co.us/medical/. However, I would consider speaking with an attorney and making sure you have good information before doing so. I hope this helps, and I hope your children are okay.

Nothing in this communication should be considered legal advice. Nor should this communication lead you to believe that an attorney-client relationship has been created. Only after thorough analysis of your case with you in my office can I provide effective legal advice on your specific issue.

This is a negligence issue. The questions that remain after reading your post, make it impossible to give you sound legal advice, with respect to whether you have a claim. However, you should in fact, keep gathering as much information as you can regarding who saw your child and when and keep records of timelines and statements of doctors. In the event you do have a claim, this information will be vital. One of the hurdles in this case will be, that assuming you can prove negligence, you have to ask, what are your damages. Hopefully, your child is improving well and has no permanent injury from this incident. If so, your damages will likely be minimal. If not, you definitely should seek an attorney for, at the very least, a consultation to see what remedies are available. When asking about a "mark" on the doctor's record, you would need to file a complaint with the Department of Regulatory Agencies at the following internet link: http://www.dora.state.co.us/medical/. However, I would consider speaking with an attorney and making sure you have good information before doing so. I hope this helps, and I hope your children are okay.


Christopher Kendrick
Lubchenco, Kendrick, & Baldridge, LLP
2222 South Albion Street, Ste. 360,Denver, CO 80222
720-644-6413
http://www.lkb-law.com

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