Daniel E. Holloway
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Northeast Georgia Gainesville amended complaint alleges delayed antibiotics before an unstable transfer and meningitis

The amended complaint alleges that a pediatrician examined an eight-month-old infant on August 23, 2021, for more than five days of fever and vomiting. He ordered a urine test, which showed bacteria, and prescribed oral antibiotics, but did not order a chest x-ray. The infant seized at home on August 26, 2021, and an emergency-department physician did not give her antibiotics despite a sepsis alert. He arranged a transfer, and the accepting physician at a children’s hospital said his plan was fine. Her blood pressure dropped before discharge, but a nurse charted her as stable and she left by ambulance without antibiotics. The receiving hospital diagnosed bacterial meningitis, and the infant suffered strokes and permanent disability.

System
Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Inc.
Facility
Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville
Providers involved
Michael Lee Patterson, MD / Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. / Sidhant Nagrani, MD / Georgia Emergency Department Services, Inc. / Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Inc. / Vivian Ruth Barbara-Stark, MD / Pediatric Emergency Medicine Associates, LLC
Pattern
Alleged failure to give antibiotics to an infant flagged as septic before an unstable transfer between hospitals
Harm
Alleged bacterial meningitis, strokes, and permanent disability

Overview

This page concerns a public complaint alleging that an infant flagged as septic received no antibiotics before an unstable transfer between hospitals.

Chronology

The complaint alleges as follows:

  1. A pediatrician examined the eight-month-old infant on August 23, 2021, for more than five days of fever and vomiting.
  2. He found an abnormally high temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate, ordered a urine test, which showed bacteria, and prescribed oral antibiotics. He did not order a chest x-ray.
  3. The infant seized at home on August 26, 2021, and her parents brought her to a hospital emergency department, where the electronic record flagged sepsis.
  4. The treating physician did not give antibiotics and arranged a transfer; the accepting physician at a children’s hospital said his plan was fine.
  5. The infant’s blood pressure dropped before discharge. A nurse could not measure it but charted her as stable.
  6. She left by ambulance without antibiotics, and an ordered fluid bolus was not given before she left.
  7. The receiving hospital diagnosed bacterial meningitis and started antibiotics. The infant suffered strokes on August 26 and 27, 2021, and permanent disability.

Alleged failures

The complaint alleges the following failures:

  • Dr. Patterson did not order tests to confirm bacterial meningitis or bacteremia and did not admit the infant to a hospital for further testing.
  • Dr. Nagrani did not give intravenous antibiotics before the infant was transported to the receiving hospital.
  • A nurse at the discharging hospital did not recognize that the infant was unstable and did not advocate for keeping her until she was stable.
  • Dr. Barbara-Stark did not tell the transferring physician to give intravenous antibiotics and to ensure the infant was stable before transfer.
  • The amended complaint pleads negligence, gross negligence, administrative negligence, and respondeat superior liability, and attaches four expert affidavits under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1.

Entities and tags

Northeast Georgia Medical Center GainesvilleNortheast Georgia Medical Center, Inc.Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc.Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite HospitalGeorgia Emergency Department Services, Inc.Pediatric Emergency Medicine Associates, LLCBacterial meningitisDeKalb CountyDelayed or missed diagnosisSepsisDelayed treatmentPremature dischargeInfectionPediatricsEmergency medicinePediatric emergency medicineNursing