Long Beach, CA, mother Samantha Knox is charging HealthCare Partners with medical malpractice in their care of her son EJ. Knox visited HealthCare Partners pediatricians and urgent care providers five times. They diagnosed the 8 month old with a viral infection. A month after symptoms first appeared, Knox took her son to the ER at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. An X-ray revealed he had a penny stuck in his esophagus that was impeding his breathing. He was immediately taken to Miller Children’s Hospital where the penny was removed. A specialist told Knox that the penny had been there for 37 days based on the corrosion. The penny had caused her son’s 103 degree fever, rash, and listlessness as well as two ulcers.
Knox filed a complaint with the Medical Board of California which is pursuing the case against providers at HealthCare Partners. The medical group is composed of more than 65 medical offices and employs more than 600 primary care and specialty physicians in Southern California.
Pediatricians diagnose and treat conditions among children including injuries, organ dysfunctions and diseases, critical care medicine, neonatal medicine, and more. They treat patient in private offices, urgent care facilities and hospitals. The pediatric urgent care center is designed to treat minor injuries and illnesses such as minor head injuries, allergic reactions without breathing problems, rashes, etc. and is open during the hours that primary care physician’s offices are closed. Emergency rooms treat children with serious injuries such as bleeding that won’t stop, trouble breathing, head injuries with loss of consciousness, etc., and are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Medical malpractice litigation in pediatrics may involve allegations of missed or delayed diagnoses of life threatening conditions, as in the lawsuit Samantha Knox filed against HealthCare Partners. Pediatric emergency medicine expert witnesses are critical in medical malpractice cases. They bring in-depth understanding of pediatric issues and present their impartial opinions to the court. Contact ELITE Medical Experts to find the board certified and best qualified pediatric emergency medicine expert witness you need for your case.