ORANGE CITY, Iowa (nwestiowa.com) — Sanford Health has been accused of negligence in the death of a 1-year-old LeMars boy.
The regional health system based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been added to the list of defendants in a lawsuit originally was filed Nov. 25 in Sioux County District Court in Orange City.
According to the 12-page amended civil complaint filed Jan. 17, the estate of Shawn Brian Cook and Jason and Lauren Cook, Shawn’s parents and the estate’s administrators, also have accused the following of negligence:
- Orange City Area Health System.
- Orange City Area Health Foundation.
- Drs. Marie Moeller and Cynthia Pals.
Shawn, who was born on Dec. 4, 2016, in Orange City, was seen by Pals on Dec. 6, 2017, for his one-year wellness checkup at Orange City Medical Clinic.
Lauren reported to Pals that Shawn had been persistently wheezing during the six days before his doctor’s appointment.
Pals noted a possible cold, allergic reaction, respiratory syncytial virus or asthma as potential causes of Shawn’s wheezing, according to the plaintiffs’ complaint.
The doctor’s plan for treatment following Shawn’s appointment was to prescribe steroids with a return visit in a couple of weeks.
On Dec. 20, 2017, Shawn was seen during a follow-up appointment by Moeller at Orange City Medical Clinic, with Lauren reporting only a slight improvement in Shawn’s wheezing with the steroid therapy.
During the examination, Moeller noted “occasional wheezing as well as some upper airway transmitted noises,” according to the lawsuit.
Moeller’s plan for treatment following Shawn’s appointment was to initiate an inhaler for asthma.
According to the original defendants’ answer to the plaintiffs’ complaint, “Lauren Cook called the clinic on Dec. 21 and was instructed to take Shawn to the emergency room if she felt this condition worsened.”
On Jan. 17, 2018, Shawn was seen at Floyd Valley Healthcare in LeMars for continued and worsening wheezing.
“A chest X-ray was ordered and showed an esophageal blockage from a swallowed foreign object,” according to the lawsuit.
Later that same day, Shawn was transferred to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
On Jan. 18, 2018, Dr. Sarah Jones-Sapienza performed a left thoracotomy — a surgical procedure to open a person’s chest — with an esophagotomy — an incision of the esophagus.
During the procedure, a 4-centimeter metal bracket lodged inside Shawn’s esophagus was removed. After his esophagus was opened and the object was grasped, pus was observed flowing from his esophagus.
“After the pus was observed, no culture was ordered by Dr. Sarah Jones-Sapienza,” according to the plaintiffs’ complaint. “Prior to this procedure, Shawn was stable and not septic.”
Shawn was put on a heart-lung bypass machine on Jan. 27, 2018. Three days later, he underwent a right thoracotomy with the repair of a tracheoesophageal fistula by Jones-Sapienza.
With a tracheoesophageal fistula, a baby’s esophagus and trachea are abnormally connected, allowing fluids from the esophagus to get into the airways and interfere with breathing, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
During the procedure, Dr. Jones-Sapienza attempted to open Shawn’s esophagus and approach the fistula through the inside of his esophagus to identify the fistula.
An infectious disease expert was not consulted until Feb. 1, 2018, according to the lawsuit, and Shawn died three days later from sepsis, a condition caused by the body’s response to an infection.
The Orange City hospital, its foundation, Moeller and Pals have been accused of negligence for the:
- Failure to properly respond to signs and symptoms consistent with a swallowed foreign object or other upper airway obstruction in a pediatric patient.
- Failure to include a swallowed foreign object or other upper airway obstruction on a differential for purposes of diagnosis.
- Failure to order a chest X-ray on a pediatric patient with demonstrated and unexplained persistent wheezing and abnormal upper airway noises.
Sanford Health has been accused of negligence for the:
- Failure to order the appropriate imaging study before performing the left thoracotomy on Shawn on Jan. 18, 2018.
- Failure to order a culture of the pus after it was observed during the left thoracotomy on Shawn on Jan. 18, 2018.
- Failure to consult with an infectious disease expert on Jan. 18, 2018, or thereafter and waiting until Feb. 1, 2018.
All of the defendants have been accused of the failure to provide care and treatment consistent with applicable standards of medical care and other unspecified acts of negligence.
“The negligence of defendants was the cause of Shawn Cook’s death,” according to the lawsuit.
Shawn’s parents and estate have demanded a jury trial — no date has been set yet — as they seek an unspecified amount of compensation for damages and court costs.
In their answer to the plaintiffs’ complaint, the Orange City hospital, its foundation, Moeller and Pals have denied the allegations and demanded a jury trial.
“Defendants pray the petition at law be dismissed in its entirety with the costs assessed against the plaintiffs,” according to the defendants’ answer.
Sanford Health has yet to respond to being added as a defendant to the lawsuit.
Click here for the link to the original story on nwestiowa.com.
(Mark Mahoney, iowainformation.com, contributed this report. It is reprinted with permission.)
