Brain Injury Due to Failure to Properly Evaluate
Lawsuit Against Johns Hopkins Hospital | December 9, 2020
On December 9, 2020, WVFK&N attorneys Mary Koch and Sarah Smith filed a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a child who suffered an avoidable brain injury.
The complaint alleges that on February 7, 2019, the child was born vaginally via vacuum extraction at 36 weeks and 5 days. The delivery occurred at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The child was discharged with no signs of distress or concern. Over the next several days, the child’s mother reported to the child’s doctors that the child was not feeding and was lethargic. The doctors and nurses told the mother to continue trying to feed the child but never instructed her to bring the child in for an exam due to the concerns over the child’s noticeable lethargy, a possible sign of infection. The mother continued to have difficulty feeding the child on the evening of February 12, 2019 and the early morning hours of February 13, 2019. As such, she brought the child to the emergency department at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on February 13, 2019. Upon evaluation, the child was found to be hypothermic, hypotensive, apneic and bradycardic, all of which required aggressive resuscitation. During her PICU course, the child was diagnosed with E-coli meningitis, septic shock, DIC, respiratory failure and seizures. Neuroimaging revealed cortical vein thrombosis in both posterior hemispheres, subdural empyema, ventriculitis, ventriculomegaly, and cerebellar hemorrhages. She spent nearly a month in the PICU recovering from her infection, brain damage, and other injuries. Today, the child suffers from brain damage, developmental delay, cortical vision impairment, among other injuries and damages.
The lawsuit alleges that the child’s injuries were caused by the negligence of John Hopkins Hospital and its employees. The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants failed to properly respond to concerning signs and that this failure was the cause of the child’s injuries.
The action is pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland.
