The Alicante Prosecutor’s Office has requested prison sentences of one year to ten months and two years and four months for two paediatricians in connection with the alleged medical negligence that resulted in the death of an eight-year-old boy. The prosecution alleges that the boy, who succumbed to peritonitis in October 2020, arrived at the emergency room on five separate occasions within a four-day timeframe without receiving appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
Today Monday 24th March, the trial against physicians MRR from the Elda hospital and MBS from the Petrer health centre started. Both are accused of homicide as a result of professional negligence. In addition to the prison sentences, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is requesting compensation for the family of the deceased child that exceeds €143,000, as well as four and a half years of professional disqualification for the first doctor and three and a half years for the second. The law firm of Raquel Sánchez Navarro has also represented the child’s mother and grandparents as private prosecutors.
The events commenced on October 24th, 2020, when little Aitor EG began experiencing abdominal pain at his family residence in Petrer. He resided with his maternal grandmother and her partner, who had been granted custody by his mother. The elders transported the minor to the local health centre, where he was subsequently referred to the hospital in Elda, in light of the identified symptoms. The doctors diagnosed abdominal pain without warning signs and vomiting during this initial encounter, attributing it to the potential onset of a viral process. Therefore, they discharged him.
Timeline of a catastrophic medical negligence case
The child’s condition did not improve; rather, it deteriorated as a result of his persistent regurgitation. This prompted his grandparents to return to the clinic two days later, on October 26th. After that, he was referred back to the Elda hospital, where he was treated by paediatrician MRR, who is currently under indictment. The indictment alleges that the physician neglected to document numerous critical symptoms in her report, including his pulse rate, and neglected to request essential tests, including an abdominal ultrasound or blood test, which were regarded as fundamental protocols for the symptoms he presented.
The Prosecutor’s Office characterises these incidents as “malpractice” and specifically faults the physician for suggesting a return visit to the Emergency Room “if the child vomits a lot,” despite the fact that the child was already vomiting seven to eight times during the day. It also raises concerns regarding the doctor’s recommendation that the child undergo a checkup with his primary paediatrician, as the child had already been referred to the hospital on two prior occasions. This underscores the gravity of the situation.
The fatal outcome transpired on October 28th, mere hours prior to his passing. The grandparents transported little Aitor to the Petrer outpatient clinic for the fifth time in the early hours of the morning, as the agony persisted and exacerbated. There, he was treated by the second doctor accused, MBS, who, according to the prosecution, failed to perform a physical examination or take basic vital signs such as blood pressure or heart rate , which were essential for assessing the patient’s condition.
The paediatrician did not deem it necessary to send the child to the hospital, despite the fact that the child was in a “serious condition,” and administered IM Buscapina Compositum, a medication that is not typically recommended in paediatrics. This decision, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, increased the child’s likelihood of death by 70%. He was experiencing acute appendicitis at the time, which progressed to a digestive tract infection and, ultimately, peritonitis.
MBS “violated basic standards of his profession and aggravated the minor’s situation,” according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The minor passed away at 9:00 a.m. on the same day at the Elda hospital, mere hours after his most recent medical appointment.
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