The Patriot-News reported that on June 19, 2012, a jury awarded a young boy and his family $1.1 million for brain injuries he received during surgery for sleep apnea that occurred in 2007. Keonte Graham was 11 months old when he received surgery for sleep apnea, a condition which causes an interference with breathing during sleep. To combat Keonte’s 50 episodes of oxygen deprivation during sleep per hour, the boy’s doctor scheduled Keonte for surgery to remove his tonsils, his adenoids, and to insert ear tubes. The surgery went off smoothly.
The problem arose during the aftermath of the boy’s surgery. Keonte was detained in recovery for five hours following his surgery to monitor the boy’s blood oxygen levels to make sure those levels remained
stable. Then, Keonte was moved into an intensive care unit where staff was supposed to continue monitoring the boy’s blood oxygen levels. Later found to not be breathing, having no pulse and requiring emergency resuscitation, Keonte went into cardiac arrest, which deprived the infant of much-needed oxygen that resulted in a brain injury.
The complaint of Keonte’s malpractice case was served on Keonte’s doctor for failure to “conduct sufficient physical exams after the operation,” “allowing Keonte to be placed on a regular floor,” when he should have been left in intensive care and neglect “to order hospital staff to continue using a device to monitor the level of oxygen” in Keonte’s blood. The hospital was not named as a defendant in the suit. During the trial, jurors determined that the doctor was responsible for the cardiac arrest that led to Keonte’s brain injury; and after a seven-day trial and four hours of deliberation, the jury awarded Keonte’s family $1.1 million dollars in damages.
Medical Malpractice Cases in Ottawa Don’t Always Make Headlines
Tragic medical malpractice outcomes occur annually across the US and Canada, with many never ending up in a court room. Many of these tragedies are resolved through settlement negotiations, and many go unaddressed. And, for the most part, Ottawa citizens don’t hear about such cases unless a trial is involved and we hear about the incident in an online or newspaper headline. Complex and labor
intensive, an Ottawa medical malpractice lawsuit requires the attention of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.
Contact an Experienced Ottawa Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If you think that you or a loved one has been injured by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, medical facility or other healthcare provider, there is help for your financial situation. The only way to know if you have an Ottawa medical malpractice lawsuit worth pursuing is to contact a qualified Ottawa personal injury lawyer. Don’t hesitate to contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyers for a free consultation of your medical malpractice claim.
