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Litigation Funding Blog

Parents of 14-month-old girl settles wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit against health clinic for $750,000

October 23, 2020

Many children develop common childhood illnesses throughout their childhoods. Often the illnesses have minor effects on children health, and they recover quickly. Such illnesses include, bronchitis, sore throat, ear pain, common cold, and cough. Another disease common in children is croup, which is a respiratory illness. It causes a change in a child’s breathing due to swelling in the upper airways. A child with croup may have a cough that resembles barking and an associated raspy and hoarse voice. While some children may have mild symptoms, others may have croup for than three to five days or the mild symptoms worsen. In rare cases, croup may lead to respiratory failure and death.

In January 2016, a 14-month-old girl named Annabelle died after receiving treatment for croup at Cherry Street Services Inc., which was a federally qualified health center. Shelby Dorey, the Annabelle’s mother, allegedly took her daughter to the center with an over 103-degree fever, bad cough, loud breathing, and fatigue. She has signs of respiratory distress. At the health center, Annabelle was in the care of Physician Assistant Marguerite Sowers. The physician assistant (PA) reportedly diagnosed the child with croup and determined that she was not in acute distress. The PA noted that she found a regular heart rate. She then gave the mother a steroid medication prescription and told the mother to call if her daughter’s symptoms worsened.

Dorey states that several hours later while at home, her daughter stopped breathing and went limp. Annabelle’s parents performed CPR and called 911. When EMS arrived, they revived her and rushed her to the hospital. The 14-month-old was placed on a machine to breathe for her, however, she suffered severe brain damage and died five days later.

Annabelle’s parents filed a wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit, which claimed that the physician assistant failed to provided needed care. The lawsuit also claimed that in not immediately sending the child to the emergency department but rather telling the mother to take her home, the physician assistant denied care. The defense’s position was that it was more likely than not that further testing or sending Anabelle to the emergency room would not have changed the outcome. Although the defense denied the little girl received inappropriate care, they settled the lawsuit for $750,000.

In wrongful death cases, the family may have to spend a lot of money to pay for the funeral and burial costs. Although they may have a case against the party that caused the death of their loved one, they may not have the funds to obtain an attorney. However, it is best to retain a lawyer to handle the lawsuit. Lawsuits are time-consuming and overwhelming legal process. Lawsuits are also very costly and require paying for court costs, filing fees, and document production fees. Litigation funding can help to defray such costs and fees.

Litigation funding, also known as legal financing and third-party litigation funding, is financing from a third party to pay legal costs and fees. Legal financing has several benefits, such as:

  • Provides a financial ease and help for personal expenses
  • Provides the ability to obtain legal representation based on talent and not just cost
  • Allows attorneys to represent clients who otherwise could not avoid their costs and fees
  • Provides funding for all litigation fees

Another benefit of litigation funding is that the party who receives the financing does not have to reimburse the lender out of his own pocket. Daren Monroe of Litigation Funding Corporation, Michigan advises, “Litigation financing offers the attorney and the client the opportunity to remove the ability to pay as a factor for providing and obtaining legal representation.” He continues, “The attorney and the client are able to focus solely on the litigation knowing that litigation financing is covering the costs and fees.”

City Fire Department to Pay $1 Million Settlement in Wrongful Death Lawsuit to Family of Pregnant Woman for Failure of Paramedics to Assess and Transport

October 9, 2020

Paramedics are emergency responders who are educated in advanced emergency medical care. They are responsible for on-the-scene treatment and can administer medicine, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform a tracheotomy to create new airways, and apply pacemakers to control irregular heartbeats.

Under Michigan law, paramedics must respond to a request to emergency medical assistance. They must also apply life support techniques and treatment. The paramedics are liable for the treatment or lack thereof if their acts or omissions result in gross negligence or willful misconduct. Failure to properly assess and treatment the patient as well as failure to transport patient to the hospital for professional medical assessment are grossly negligent.

On March 14, 2016, Vicki Kitelinger went to Dignity Health hospital because she was had a cough and shortness of breath for a week. At the time, she was 17 weeks pregnant. The doctors found that her heartbeat was much higher than it should be especially during pregnancy. The doctors diagnosed Kitelinger with bronchitis and sent her home from the hospital with an inhaler.

Kitelinger had a family history of blood clots. However, during her medical assessment at Dignity Health the medical staff did not ask her whether she had a family history of blood clots. She also had her own medical history of varicose veins. Soon after returning home from the hospital, Vicki fainted twice. She then told her daughter she could not breathe, and her daughter called 911.

The paramedics arrived to the home shortly after the 911 call in a fire truck. An ambulance for transport never came to the house, and it is unknown if one was ever dispatched. After evaluating Kitelinger, the paramedics said that she was just have a panic attack and did not need further medical treatment. They told Vicki to call her family doctor the next day about her elevated blood pressure. Then, the paramedics left the house.

She went to her family physician the next day, as instructed by the paramedics. Determining that she was severely ill, her doctor had her transported to a nearby hospital. Once evaluated at the hospital, she was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU). In the ICU, her heart failed and her pulse was lost for ten minutes. She and her pregnancy could not be saved. She was removed from life support and died.

Her husband filed a lawsuit against Dignity Health hospital and the paramedics of the Phoenix Fire Department. The lawsuit alleges that Dignity Health failed to properly assessed her symptoms or diagnose her condition. The lawsuit also claims that the paramedics failure to assess and transport Kitelinger gave no chance of survival. While the lawsuit against the hospital is still ongoing, the city agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to Kitelinger’s husband and family regarding the claims against the fire department.

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