A jury awarded a woman $21 million in a verdict against two physicians and a nurse practitioner at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala., seven years after her son died from an undiagnosed bowel disease, al.com reported Nov. 6.
On Nov. 4, 2015, Lakeisha Oliver gave birth to Jaquarius Smith, who had difficulty passing his first bowel movement and demonstrated signs of Hirschsprung's disease, a condition that affects the large intestine and causes problems with passing stool, according to Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
After physicians examined and performed X-rays on the baby, he was discharged with a note that said "colonic obstruction should be considered," according to court documents. He struggled to eat, had a swollen stomach and abnormal bloodwork.
Ms. Oliver said in court documents that she returned with her son to Jackson Hospital on Nov. 13 and again on Nov. 15, when nurse practitioner Lester Sutton, CRNP, examined and discharged her son. Family medicine specialist Richard Sample, DO, signed off on Mr. Sutton's plan. After Ms. Oliver returned to the hospital again on Nov. 16, Steve Avezzano, MD, another family medicine specialist, admitted the baby for observation.
It was discovered that Ms. Oliver's son had developed sepsis and his organs began failing before physicians called to transfer him to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., an attorney who represented Ms. Oliver told al.com.
Medical staff spent five hours stabilizing the newborn before he was transferred by helicopter to Children's Hospital, where physicians performed emergency surgery and found a gangrenous bowel, according to the report. The baby died at 14 days old, and an autopsy found he had Hirschsprung's disease.
Jackson Hospital did not respond to Becker's request for comment.