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.”
