As many California residents might know, a misdiagnosis of a patient’s medical condition can be detrimental to his or her well-being, sometimes even fatal. It can mean the wrong medication is prescribed or no medication at all is prescribed. In the case of one man, he believes that the hospital’s failure to diagnose his wife’s case of tuberculosis lead to both his wife’s and one of his newborn twin daughter’s deaths.
The man’s wife recently gave birth to twin girls. One newborn died a month after birth from respiratory failure. The wife died a month after that from tuberculosis. The second baby died exactly a month after her mother, also from tuberculosis, which she contracted from her mother.
According to the husband, while the second baby was still in the neonatal unit, his wife visited her. She had been sick and had a fever, which her doctors knew about, but allegedly doctors had not tested her to see what was truly wrong. Not only did doctors fail to diagnose and thus save his wife’s life, his wife infected his remaining twin and she died as well.
His wife also exposed countless other newborns and their family members to tuberculosis. This resulted in the hospital having to test 140 babies. They recommended that the babies receive antibiotics and more tests over the next year to make sure that the test results are truly accurate. At least 36 people have been positively diagnosed with tuberculosis. The man is suing the hospital for their failure to diagnose his wife’s condition correctly, and it is possible that other families could follow suit.
The hospital has since investigated and discovered that protocol was in fact not followed. In hospitals and especially the maternity ward, patients expect to receive exemplary treatment and care. When doctors and nurses fail to recognize the signs and symptoms of a disease, the mothers and babies are both put at risk. Patients and surviving family members in California who believe they were irreparably harmed by a misdiagnosis are entitled to file civil action against the doctors and hospitals deemed responsible. Any financial restitution may provide for the patient’s past and future medical needs.
Source: 8newsnow.com, Tuberculosis Testing on Exposed Infants Nearly Complete, Brian Brennan, Nov. 8, 2013
