QUESTION
Do I have a case against the ped? My son & daughter had mycoplasma and when I brought the baby in with the same symptoms, they didn''t treat him.
Asked on Aug 07th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - New Jersey
More details to this question:
My 3 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter were both diagnosed with Mycoplasma pneumonia (symptoms were fever and a cough). When I took my other son (15 months) for the same symptoms, they said they didn''t hear anything in his chest and to come back in 2 days if he still had a fever. We went back every 2 days for 8 days and the doctor told us the same thing each time. On night 8 of having these symptoms, I noticed him having trouble breathing while sleeping. Rushed him to the ER, where they did an x-ray and it showed he also had pneumonia. They told us to come back in 2 days if he still had a fever after taking the antibiotic for 2 days. He still had the fever 2 days later, so back we went (this is now the 10th day with a fever). He was admitted into the hospital and stayed for 2 nights and needed oxygen, breathing treatments and 2 different antibiotics. Blood work came back that it was also Mycoplasma pneumonia and he was put in isolation because it is highly contagious.
1 ANSWER
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In my mind, it does not sound like a black and white description of medical malpractice. In hind-sight it would have been better if they provided prophylactic antibiotics. Nevertheless, it would have taken several days to culture the blood, which would have been a prerequisite to putting him on the correct antibiotics. Until his condition deteriorated, you could argue that it was a matter of judgment about whether they should have taken a watch-and-wait approach in those circumstances.
Having said that, it seems odd that they placed him in isolation after allowing him to walk in and out of the hospital when there was at least reason to suspect that he might have mycoplasma pneumonia (after they placed him on antibiotics). It makes you wonder if you are getting the entire story about what is going on, but it could be explained away by the fact that the doctor in the ER didn't know what the specific organism is, but if the ER doctor knew the history, he should have known this was the most likely scenario.
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At this point, should focus on getting him better. Presumably he will, and if that is the case, you will not have a financially viable medical malpractice case.
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Answered on Aug 08th, 2012 at 4:00 PM