Dominique H. Rogers

Medical Malpractice: The mother of the deceased minor child delivered twins at 34 weeks at MacNeal Hospital by C-section. D., one of the twins, was diagnosed with a respiratory problem known as esophageal atresia with lower tracheoesophageal fistula. They diagnosed the condition on 11/15/06, ran tests on 11/16/06 and told family that on 11/17/06 they were going to attempt to reattach the esophagus to the stomach and address a fistula between the esophagus and lung. The family was told it would be 2-3 hours surgery, but after waiting 6 hours, they still had not heard anything. Finally they were told the problem was more difficult than anticipated and that they were waiting a specialist. Plaintiff’s investigation revealed that in fact a medical error occurred during the procedure. Instead of incising the fistula as intended, the surgeon transected the child’s bronchial tube to the lung and caused the lung to collapse. After the surgery, the child was on a ventilator and hospitalized until he ultimately died from his injuries.