Woman claims failure to diagnose caused daughter’s death

Over the course of the last decade, many urgent care centers have opened in Massachusetts and across the country. The facilities claim to treat ailments such as ear infections and colds and do not require an appointment. While such a convenience appeals to many, one out-of-state woman claims that an urgent care center’s failure to diagnose her daughter ultimately led to the girl’s death. She has recently filed a medical malpractice claim against the facility.

Court papers indicate that the woman originally brought her daughter to the facility in Jan. 2012. The young girl was reportedly suffering from vomiting and nausea. She was reportedly diagnosed with a gastric infection and sent home with a prescription for pain medication.

Unfortunately, the plaintiff says she found her daughter unresponsive and without a pulse the next day. She returned to the same urgent care facility where CPR was administered. The girl was then transferred to a hospital where she later passed away. Her mother claims that had a blood test been administered, the doctors at the urgent care center would have diagnosed the girl’s high glucose and potassium levels. Additionally, the woman claims that care providers failed to take action that could have facilitated resuscitation attempts.

Those who have never experienced the loss of a child may not be able to fully understand the suffering this woman is experiencing. The knowledge that the young girl’s death may have been caused by the facility’s failure to diagnose likely only compounds the grief. While it likely does little to ease the emotional devastation family members of a medical malpractice victim are experiencing, filing a claim in a Massachusetts civil court could result in an award of monetary damages. A successful litigation could ease the financial strain created by medical bills and funeral expenses. Additionally, other lives could be saved by preventing similar negligence from occurring in the future.

Source: louisianarecord.com, “Medical malpractice suit filed against urgent care facility by mother following daughter’s death“, Andrey Burin, Feb. 17, 2015