Delayed Diagnosis of Infection in 9-Year-Old Patient Results in Paralysis, $44M Award

What's the news. An Ohio jury has awarded $44 million to a pediatric patient who sustained brain damage and paralysis as a result of a delay in diagnosing an infection. The nine-year-old patient first visited the defendant pediatrician's office complaining of ear pain and fever. He visited again days later with ear pain, fever, headache, fatigue, vomiting, sensitivity to light, lost appetite, and trouble urinating. By his third visit in a total of 10 days, the patient complained of constant headaches. He was sent home to rest and hydrate with a diagnosis of mononucleosis. Two days later, the patient had severe headaches and was taken to the defendant hospital, where he was diagnosed with a rare subdural posterior fossa empyema.