Jury Awards $15M After Medical Errors Caused Boy’s Death

A Suffolk County jury has found two doctors at Children’s Hospital Boston caused the death of a 3-year-old boy and must pay his parents $15 million, reports the Boston Globe. This is an unusual amount for a medical malpractice case involving death — settlements this large are more usual for severely injured patients requiring years of expensive treatment.

The Pennsylvania boy was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex but treatable birth defect which affects the flow of blood through the heart. After several surgeries to try to widen the arteries carrying blood to his heart, the young boy was referred to another doctor who performed a catheterization. Within hours of this surgery the boy suffered a seizure found to be caused by contrast dye used in the surgery leaking into his brain.

During an MRI a tiny piece of metal — probably from a medical instrument — was found to be lodged in his brain. When released from the hospital, the boy was unable to walk or speak.

He died in December 2004.

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