Lauren Readler, 2, was taken to the emergency room because she was vomiting and had severe stomach pain. She had not had a bowel movement for two days.
Lauren was given Zofran. Her parents were told to follow up with her pediatrician. Lauren’s symptoms persisted. She was returned to the emergency room at the same hospital. Lauren then underwent an X-ray and was diagnosed as having a gastrointestinal problem.
The emergency department physicians recommended that Lauren be transferred to a different hospital.
It was at this hospital that she underwent an upper endoscopy and other testing, which showed an intestinal malrotation. Lauren’s parents were not told of this; Lauren was discharged with a diagnosis of gastroparesis, a condition that prevents the stomach from emptying its contents properly.
Lauren’s symptoms subsided initially but she returned several months later. Lauren was then rushed to a different hospital where she was diagnosed as having a perforated stomach. Within an hour, Lauren stopped breathing and died. She was survived by her parents.
Lauren’s parents, individually and on behalf of her estate, sued the first hospital, the two treating pediatricians and the pediatric surgeon who ordered the upper GI, claiming failure to timely diagnose and treat the intestinal malrotation. The jury’s verdict was $6.25 million. The attorneys representing Lauren’s family were Joseph A. Quinn, Nicole Santo and Kevin Quinn.
Readler v. Pinnacle Health Hospitals, No. 2011-09921 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pleas Luzern County, May 20, 2015).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling medical negligence cases and birth trauma cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including River Grove, Wilmette, Winnetka, Morton Grove, Wheaton, Winfield, North Chicago, Zion, Lake Bluff, Blue Island and Long Grove, Ill.
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