$1.9 Million Settlement for the Paralysis of a 6-Year-Old Child Caused by Late Diagnosis of Pediatric Leukemia

A 6-year-old child suffered from fatigue, constipation, fever, pain and sleeping difficulties for several weeks. The girl was brought to a federal health clinic by her parents. A nurse practitioner examined her, diagnosed constipation and prescribed a suppository and juice. Two days later, a pediatrician confirmed the same misdiagnosis and prescribed MiraLax.

The child’s condition continued to deteriorate. Her parents brought her to the hospital a few days later. At that time, an x-ray showed a massive distension of the child’s spleen and an enlarged liver.

The girl was then life-flighted to another hospital where she was diagnosed as having acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The leukemia led to formation of a spinal tumor that caused this 6-year-old girl to suffer paraplegia. She is now 9 and is cancer free, but she is permanently paralyzed.

The child’s mother, and on her behalf, sued the United States alleging its choosing not to timely diagnose and treat the child’s leukemia allowed the cells to collect in her cerebral spinal fluid and form a tumor that caused her paraplegia.

The child’s mother charged that the nurse practitioner should have referred the child for blood testing and imaging after she was unable to palpate her liver or spleen during an examination.

After mediation, the parties settled this tragic case for $1.9 million. The lawsuit against the pediatrician is pending, according to the report of this case.

The attorneys successfully handling the case for the young girl and her mother were Terrence D. Garmey and Christian C. Foster.
The plaintiff engaged experts in oncology and pediatrics.

Cash v. United States, No. CV-00518 (D. Me.).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling birth trauma injury lawsuits, hospital negligence lawsuits, physician error cases, wrongful death lawsuits, nursing home negligence cases and surgical negligence cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including New Lenox, Bedford Park, Oak Lawn, Blue Island, Crestwood, Forest Park, Orland Park, Chicago Ridge, Cicero, Evanston, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook, Highland Park, Chicago (Austin, Mont Clare, Galewood, Hermosa, Belmont Heights, Sauganash, North Park, Albany Park, Irving Park, Humboldt Park, Pilsen), River Forest, Maywood and Frankfort, Ill.