The parents of Maya Getahun have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Piedmont Healthcare and others.
According to 11Alive, they are claiming that their 2-year-old daughter died “needlessly because of sub-standard medical care” after experiencing an allergic reaction on October 7, 2024.
The complaint, which was filed in Gwinnett County on Friday, also names an emergency room doctor as a defendant.
RELATED STORIES
The lawsuit follows the incidents that happened during Getahun’s visit to Piedmont Eastside Medical Center in Snellville last year.
After Getahun was bitten by fire ants, her parents took her to the hospital, according to the lawsuit. Getahun needed urgent care because she was having respiratory distress from an allergic reaction, according to the complaint.
“While recognizing this was an allergic reaction, the medical staff waited over 20 minutes before administering epinephrine, causing Maya’s condition to worsen,” the complaint said.
The ER physician also decided to intubate the child through rapid sequence intubation (RSI), according to the complaint.
According to health professionals, RSI helps to protect the airway fast, lowering the danger of aspiration.
The lawsuit claims, however, that the doctor failed to verify whether she had the necessary equipment to intubate a child.
According to the complaint, the RSI medications paralyzed the 2-year-old, and the doctor concluded that the hospital lacked the necessary equipment.
Getahun lost her life.
“Maya’s parents looked on helplessly as their daughter slowly died from lack of oxygen,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were negligent.
The Bell Law Firm, which represents Getahun’s parents, stated that the same doctor has been implicated in two other medical malpractice cases filed by the firm.
The parents are seeking damages and a jury trial.
Attorney Lloyd Bell said about the complaint, “This case is about accountability. No family should ever experience the heartbreak of losing a child due to a hospital’s lack of preparation, especially for something as foreseeable as an allergic reaction. Our goal is to obtain full justice for Maya and help ensure that what happened to Maya never happens to another child.”
