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Alexander Law Sues Hospital for Overdose Death of a BabyAlexander Law Group, LLP filed a wrongful death lawsuit against UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. A 20-month-old baby died while under the supervision of doctors and staff nine days after recovering from a "successful" surgery. The baby did not have vital sign monitors that would have alerted nursing staff that he had stopped breathing due to an overdose of pain medications. According to the lawsuit filed against the hospital by the Alexander Law Group for Damonii Coleman's mother Latrice Patterson, Damonii had recovered from his May 23, 2014 surgery, was transferred from the ICU to a hospital ward on May 30th, and his condition was reported as stable on June 1, 2014. But in the early morning hours of June 2nd, Damonii was pronounced dead while his mother was sleeping at his bedside. Medical records show that attending doctors believe the cause of death to be hypoxia from over-sedation or aspiration, although the Sacramento County Coroner has not released the results of the autopsy 14 months after the child's death. The complaint for wrongful death alleges that the hospital did not use pulse oximetry apparatus, respiratory, apnea and/or cardiac monitors for Damonii and that beginning May 30, 2014, the medical staff administered an increased dose of mutiple pain medications, a combination that proved lethal to the infant. "The physicians, surgeons, nursing and medical staff at UC Davis Medical Center were negligent in their care of this baby," said Annie Wu, an attorney at the Alexander Law Group in San Jose, California. "It's inconceivable that a pediatric surgery patient in recovery would not be hooked up to cardiac and respiratory monitoring equipment, especially when the pain medications administered are known to repress breathing. Damonii's mother is devastated at both the loss of her child, but also at California's 'one size fits all' limit on damages for the death of a child in a medical malpractice case." The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, but, "California imposes a $250,0000 limit on wrongful death damages in medical malpractice cases," said attorney Richard Alexander. "This is an outrage that has to change. After all, what is your child or grandchild worth?" In commenting on the failure of Sacramento County to report the autopsy results, Alexander said, "It is a miscarriage of justice not to complete the autopsy report on this child. It has been 14 months. This mother is entitled to know what and who killed her baby." About Alexander Law Group, LLP Alexander Law Group, LLP is a nationally recognized, award-winning personal injury law firm with offices in San Jose and San Francisco, California. The attorneys of the Alexander Law Group have decades of experience with outstanding results litigating difficult and complex cases against major insurance companies, large corporations, public and government entities. www.alexanderlaw.com, www.alexanderinjury.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150826005365/en/ |
