Mom suing U.S. government for $60 million after toddler dies following 'neglectful' immigration detainment

[yuna628 9,528]

4 hours ago, The Nature Boy said:

So to summarize,  you dont know what happened,?

The New Jersey paper had a pretty good overview of what happened in this case.

4 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

I read a different article earlier today and it mentioned nothing about her being on the ventilator for 6 weeks after their release. 

 

I would like to know as well what medications were given out. The other article I read said that "they were given medication but it did not work and then were released from custody". Also this article is obviously not written by a parent because they were using the motto that "Vicks vapor rub shouldn't be given to 2 year olds and below", when in reality this is done all the time with my 4 children even my now 22 month old. 

 

She might have a good case but it will be argued that the mother bringing the child from Central America sure didn't help her immune system at all. So it shouldn't be US's fault entirely.

As far as I'm aware the NJ article and other local stories are accurate at least to the specifics of what happened once she got to the hospital and those reviewing her treatment while in the care of ICE. It's a sad case.. she didn't deserve what happened to her. No doubt a child can't avoid being sick, but no child deserves to be neglected of care. Her life could have been saved. And I agree about Vicks lol, my mom used to slather it on me back in the day, and we still use it in the good ol' vaporizer.. but no amount of that would help in this situation. Vicks does make a baby specific product, which is considered safer for use at a very young age, as there have actually been cases of use of the regular product in young babies and toddlers increasing breathing difficulty. It's the camphor, so I hear.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

2 hours ago, The Nature Boy said:

Legal immigration requires physicals and sputum test for a reason 

 

 

   The viruses in this case are as common respiratory viruses. They would not have been picked up on a physical exam, and definitely not on the sputum test. The main question is when the severe symptoms started to present, and if adequate treatment was given at that time.

[bcking 3,157]

7 hours ago, yuna628 said:

I also saw something similar mentioned about this case.

 

From a New Jersey article:

 

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2018/11/29/mother-sue-u-s-government-toddler-dies-after-immigration-facility/2138127002/ I think the facts involving this case are pretty clear. She failed to receive proper medical attention when she needed it, and as a result died a horrible death. Her six weeks of remaining life were spent on a ventilator in intensive care. Her mother was not neglectful.

 

Please read the article above regarding the case. I know it's easy to point the finger when someone has come here illegally, but a child suffered greatly, and upon their release from ICE, the mother did everything she could for her daughter... she has a pretty good case I think at least. I am curious what medications ICE doctors or nurses may have given.. it doesn't sound like it was anything that was working. Vicks Vapor Rub and cough meds isn't going to cut it. She really needed a hospital and proper medical attention.

Thanks for the additional info.

 

Certainly a case of neglect here. She should have been seen by a doctor at least prior to discharge from the facility. She likely wouldn't have been fit for discharge and instead would have (hopefully) been transferred directly to a hospital facility nearby (could have been brought here to Houston). It was wholly inappropriate to discharge her with her mother and just assume/hope the mother would seek medical attention. Luckily the mother did, but the medical system at the facility had an obligation to the child that they failed to satisfy.

 

Again may not have changed her outcome. Adeno and Paraflu can both be nasty, and it's really just supportive care until you can recover.

 

As for the monetary sum I have no opinion really. Since it's the government I'd say go for whatever you can get. What happened to the girl was horrible and our system surely failed her. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by bcking

[bcking 3,157]

30 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   The viruses in this case are as common respiratory viruses. They would not have been picked up on a physical exam, and definitely not on the sputum test. The main question is when the severe symptoms started to present, and if adequate treatment was given at that time.

You can pick up both from a nasal swab and a PCR test. They have become quite common, though I doubt the immigration center would have used them. The viral panels aren't cheap.

 

They are also typically used after the onset of symptoms (mostly for cohorting purposes). I don't know the sensitivity of the panels for screening purposes.

 

Regardless, these viruses CERTAINLY have nothing to do with why people get physical exams and sputum tests during the immigration process. Immigrants certainly get those for a reason, it just has nothing to do with this thread. 🤣

Edited November 30, 2018 by bcking

[Steeleballz 7,550]

3 minutes ago, bcking said:

You can pick up both from a nasal swab and a PCR test. They have become quite common, though I doubt the immigration center would have used them. The viral panels aren't cheap.

 

They are also typically used after the onset of symptoms (mostly for cohorting purposes). I don't know the sensitivity of the panels for screening purposes.

 

Regardless, these viruses CERTAINLY have nothing to do with why people get physical exams and sputum tests during the immigration process. Completely unrelated. 

 

    The PCR viral panel is everywhere nowadays and they could have had the results in an hour or so. It would have detected both adenovirus and any of the parainfluenza viruses. Granted an immigration facility may not have access to that, but they should have a protocol for transferring emergent cases for treatment. Any ER could have had the test done and recognized what was going on given the seriousness of the symptoms.

 

   I think the biggest factor was if the stated symptoms were present while the child was in the facility, they needed to initiate appropriate treatment.  Any detention facility has an obligation to provide appropriate medical care. It doesn't matter if the symptoms began in the facility or prior to the detention.

[Chris Duffy 1,256]

Good Luck suing the Federal Government

 

Good Luck with that.

[bcking 3,157]

7 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

    The PCR viral panel is everywhere nowadays and they could have had the results in an hour or so. It would have detected both adenovirus and any of the parainfluenza viruses. Granted an immigration facility may not have access to that, but they should have a protocol for transferring emergent cases for treatment. Any ER could have had the test done and recognized what was going on given the seriousness of the symptoms.

 

   I think the biggest factor was if the stated symptoms were present while the child was in the facility, they needed to initiate appropriate treatment.  Any detention facility has an obligation to provide appropriate medical care. It doesn't matter if the symptoms began in the facility or prior to the detention.

Annoyingly the panel takes like 12 hours at my hospital, which is a very large free standing Children's Hospital. It also costs around 2 grand last time I looked into it...

 

Couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately both of those viruses can kill young children even if they do get to an ER and get proper medical attention appropriately, but she didn't even get a fighting chance.

 

 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Makes one wonder... what would her daughter be doing today, had the mother not engaged in such risky behaviour and tried to enter the US illegally?  Does the mother accept any of the blame herself?

[bcking 3,157]

1 hour ago, Satisfied said:

Makes one wonder... what would her daughter be doing today, had the mother not engaged in such risky behaviour and tried to enter the US illegally?  Does the mother accept any of the blame herself?

The question here isn't blame for her child getting sick, it's blame regarding medical neglect in a dependent population. It would be similar to cases of neglect and malpractice in the prison system. If someone gets sick in prison the responsibility falls on the prison to provide them adequate and reasonable therapy. A prison can't just blame the prisoner because they are a criminal and then not treat them. While they were detained the facility was responsible for their health and well-being.

 

Based on the available information it seems highly likely that, at the very least, the facility improperly "medically cleared" her for discharge from the facility. We have very minimal objective information but one objective number in one of the articles linked here was that she was 8% down from her baseline weight about 1 week into the illness, and about 1 week prior to discharge from the facility. 8% weight loss is classified as "moderate dehydration", and at the very least would require oral rehydration and prolonged observation in an ED. We don't know which direction she went prior to discharge but given the fact that her condition seemed to continue to worsen, it is highly likely that she was further down from her baseline weight at the time of discharge. >10% would be considered "severe hydration", and there is absolutely no situation in which a child would be "medically cleared" if they were so significantly dehydrated. Failure to respond to oral rehydration during that week would have warranted transfer to a facility to provide intravenous hydration (or more substantial enteral nutrition). That is ONLY taking into account her hydration status (since we have 1 objective number for that), ignoring her respiratory status.

 

TL;DR - The facility was responsible for the child during the period of detention, and at the very least they improperly "medically cleared" her for discharge when she was at least moderately dehydrated, and likely severely dehydrated by the time of discharge. From her hydration status alone, she would have warranted transfer to a medical facility due to failure for her condition to improve.