A New Jersey appeals court has resurrected a lawsuit about the death of a 3-week-old baby, holding that a jury should decide whether or not doctors failed to notice important warning flags.
The case relates to the 2017 death of a baby who was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside and Clara Maass Medical Center. The infant’s symptoms were breathing difficulties, irritability, and vomiting.
The court ruling states that the infant was released on both occasions without undergoing comprehensive diagnostic tests.
He was discovered unconscious in his crib and was declared dead a few hours after the second visit.
The Appellate Division overturned a trial court’s decision to dismiss the baby’s parents’ lawsuit, concluding that the judge erred in excluding the family’s medical expert from the proceedings.
Gregory Carter and Kayronna Benjamin-Carter, the baby’s parents, sued the hospitals as well as a number of medical specialists. They claimed that because of insufficient emergency care, their son passed away from exhaustion and an undetected infection.
After conducting an autopsy on the newborn on September 26, 2017, New Jersey state assistant medical examiner Dr. Frederik DiCarlo determined that the cause of death was Sudden Unexplained newborn Death.
Dr. Michael Tunik, a board-certified pediatric emergency physician and the plaintiff’s expert, stated that the ER staff at both hospitals did not provide the necessary level of care in spite of that determination.
The appellate panel determined that Tunik’s findings were not conjectural and were backed up by the medical record.
Additionally, the panel decided that the trial court erred in rejecting a precedent set by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Because of this precedent, juries are able to examine whether the likelihood of injury from a preexisting condition rose when diagnostic tests were not performed.
The judge stated that the jury should decide whether the infant had an illness or dehydration.
For additional procedures, the case is currently being heard in Essex County Superior Court.
The health and privacy of our patients are our first priorities at Hackensack Meridian Health, according to a statement from Jessica Nussman, director of media and public relations. We are dedicated to giving each person we serve compassionate, high-quality treatment. We refrain from commenting on ongoing or pending litigation due to patient privacy regulations and our respect for the legal system.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by the Carters’ lawyers or those of the hospitals and medical facilities mentioned in the complaint.
Regarding the ongoing dispute, a representative at Clara Maass Medical Center from RWJ Barnabas Health declined to comment.
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