The court ruled that the mother of an 11-month-old daughter who died under mysterious circumstances in Daugavpils Hospital is entitled to compensation of over 120,000 euros. During the transfer within the hospital, the child was disconnected from the vital signs monitor, the medical staff did not notice the deterioration in her condition, and the infant's life was cut short.
According to the case materials, the mother noticed that her 11-month-old daughter may have swallowed valerian tablets. Emergency services were immediately called, which transported the child to Daugavpils Regional Hospital, reports TV3 News.
The child was immediately placed in intensive care, and after some time, it was determined that her condition was moderately stable and she could be transferred to another department. For transportation, the girl was disconnected from the monitor that tracked her heart activity and breathing, although regulations require continuous monitoring of vital signs during transfer.
The journey to the fifth floor took about 20 minutes. During this time, the child was under the supervision of a physician's assistant and a nurse, but without equipment that could alert them to a cardiac arrest. The staff believed the child was simply sleeping. Upon arrival at the pediatric department, the duty nurse and doctor saw that the girl was not breathing. The department's doctors established that the child died during transportation or just before it.
Summarizing the evidence along with the conclusions of experts, the appellate court found that the responsible medical personnel allowed the patient to be disconnected from the monitor, and during transportation, when a deterioration in the patient's condition was recorded, they did not take timely measures to preserve her vital functions.
The Health Inspection conducted an investigation after the incident and concluded that the doctors were not at fault for the child's death, also proposing the version that the child died from sudden infant death syndrome. Last year, the Administrative District Court in Rezekne ordered the Health Inspection to issue an administrative act for the Medical Risk Fund to pay 123,000 euros to the mother. On Wednesday, the next court instance also ruled that compensation is due to the mother.
"The decision is favorable for the mother of the patient; the amount of compensation, taking into account the calculations of the lower court, is 129,000 euros. (TV3: What about the responsibility of the medical staff, was that assessed as well?) Perhaps, but that is not within the jurisdiction of the administrative court; perhaps the hospital itself should assess that," said Liga Hazenfuse, judge of the Administrative Appellate Court.
Daugavpils Hospital explained that the chairman of the board is ill and absent from work, so the medical institution cannot yet provide its comments on this case and the court's decision.
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