Mainstream medicine strikes again as routine tonsillectomy leaves child brain damaged

Friday, November 19, 2010 by: Louis Lazaris
Tags: tonsillectomy, brain damage, health news

(NewsTarget) The family of a Canadian boy who suffered "irreversible" brain damage is suing Manitoba healthcare workers and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) for financial compensation and future medical costs. They allege negligence led to his condition.

Dylan Campbell, who was 11-years old at the time, traveled from his home in Swan River in Manitoba, about 4 hours west of Winnipeg, to Winnipeg's Children's Hospital to have a routine tonsillectomy. He was released 15 hours after surgery, which is standard for this type of procedure.

Five days later, he had difficulty breathing and started to cough up blood. Canada's CTV news reports that Dylan and his family were told to wait their turn in the ER. After an hour and a half, Dylan collapsed in the waiting room, going into cardiac arrest. He was treated on the scene but by that point had suffered damage to his brain.

A statement of claim has been filed in behalf of Dylan -- who is now 12 years old -- against the WRHA and employees of the Health Sciences Centre. The family is suing for an undisclosed amount along with the costs of future medical care for Dylan, who as a result of the incident is now in a "persistent vegetative state".

The lawsuit alleges that healthcare workers did not consider the weight of the patient at the time of surgery. Dylan was 250 pounds in November of 2009 and would be considered "a known surgical complication and anaesthetic complication."

The family's lawyer, Robert Tapper, says he doesn't believe the WRHA can use the surgical complications as a defence, since Dylan's weight was known and thus his anesthetic should have been adjusted.

"My task is to demonstrate what happened to this child shouldn't have happened to this child, that somebody out there is responsible for that," Tapper told CTV news. He also said it could be one or two years before the lawsuit is heard in court.

Although the boy is visited daily by his parents, Sandra and Jerry, the couple aren't sure if Dylan can understand or hear them. The boy's father says the couple have "many things on our mind." He continues, "Angry is just one of them. Disappointed. I can keep going on."

This is the second time the WHRA has been part of a controversial report in a month. In October, Winnipeg police began investigating possible criminal charges involving the death of a homeless aboriginal man who died after spending 34 hours in a local hospital's waiting room.

Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/11/09/ma...
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101110/wi...
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/1...

About the author

Louis Lazaris is a website designer and the owner of Natural-Life.ca, a directory that provides free business listings for natural health practitioners, organic food stores, organic farms, and organic & vegetarian restaurants in major North American cities like Toronto and New York City.

Louis also maintains a web design blog where he regularly posts articles and tutorials on web development.