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Fehrenbach v. O'Malley10/21/2005
{ } Plaintiffs-appellants Gina and Thomas Fehrenbach, individually and on behalf of their minor daughter Tara Fehrenbach, appeal the judgment of the trial court entered on a jury's verdict in favor of the defendants in a medical malpractice action. Defendants-appellees are pediatrician Kathryn O'Malley, M.D., and her employer, Suburban Pediatric Associates.
{ } On October 1, 1990, fourteen-month-old Tara awoke with a temperature of 105.2 degrees. She had vomited and was "lethargic." Her mother, a nurse, called O'Malley's office and set up an appointment for three o'clock that afternoon. O'Malley examined Tara at that time and diagnosed her as suffering from a severe double-ear infection. She prescribed an oral antibiotic and Tylenol. Fehrenbach returned with Tara the next morning, informing the doctor that Tara's fever had not registered lower than 104 degrees, that she was still vomiting, and that she was "real lethargic." O'Malley concluded, after an examination, that Tara was still suffering from ear infections. She told Fehrenbach to continue with the oral antibiotic and Tylenol and to give fluids for hydration.
{ } Tara's temperature was lower the morning of October 3, and she was able to sit up for a short time and eat a little. But her fever spiked again, and she began pressing her head into her mother's arm. That evening, Tara's parents took her to the emergency room at Children's Hospital after talking to the on-call pediatrician at Suburban Pediatric. Fluid from a lumbar puncture revealed that Tara had bacterial meningitis. Her spinal fluid contained over one million colonies of the responsible bacteria, penicillin-resistant streptococcal pneumonia. She was given the antibiotic ceftriaxone intravenously and remained hospitalized for a month.
{ } While hospitalized, Tara suffered several strokes and developed a condition referred to as hydrocephalus when her body's ability to drain cerebral spinal fluid was compromised. A permanent shunt had to be placed in her head to draw out the cerebral spinal fluid. Her treating neurosurgeon, Dr. Kerry Crone, diagnosed her as suffering from sequelae as a result of the meningitis and hydrocephalus, including a Chiari 1 malformation, arachnoiditis, syringomylia, and an unsteady gait when she ran.
{ } Tara has not demonstrated any cognitive impairment. She has had multiple brain surgeries to remedy complications from the shunt, and she has had to have back surgery to remedy chronic back pain.
{ } Several months after Tara was diagnosed with meningitis, Tara's parents, upon the advice of an attorney friend, began compiling a summary of the medical events that had occurred and the medical events that would occur during the next seven years. The summary was put together over a course of time based upon personal recollections and knowledge.
{ } Tara, through her parents, sued O'Malley and her employer almost seven years after the alleged malpractice. Her parents filed a loss-of-consortium claim at the same time. The trial court ruled that the parental consortium claim was barred by the statute of limitations and granted partial summary judgment to the defendants on this claim prior to trial.
{ } At trial, the Fehrenbachs' expert, Dr. Larry Baraff, testified that O'Malley had deviated from the standard of care in not ordering a septic workup, consisting of a lumbar puncture and a complete blood count (CBC), on October 1 and 2, after Tara experienced a high fever, vomiting, and lethargy. According to the expert, O'Malley also deviated from the standard of care in not ordering the intravenous administration of the antibiotic ceftriaxone. Earlier treatment would have either preve
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