Woman Announces MRSA Lawsuit After Son’s Death
A New York woman whose 12-year-old son died from the drug-resistant staph infection MRSA announced that she is suing a city hospital for $25 million.“What my son go through, I don’t want any kid, no mother, to go through,” said Aileen Rivera.
Missed Diagnosis
Omar Rivera missed school on Oct. 9, according to officials at his school. His mother took him to First Medcare, a local clinic where doctors diagnosed Omar with an infection and prescribed him the antibiotic amoxicillin and ibuprofen.
After midnight on Oct. 13, Aileen Rivera took her son to the emergency room at Kings County Hospital Center because he was still running a high fever. A doctor there determined that Omar was having a reaction to the ibuprofen and gave him Benadryl.
Blood Tests Confirm MRSA
Omar died shortly thereafter on the morning of Oct. 15. Blood tests conducted after his death came back positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, said city health officials.
Hospital officials said they were “closely examining” why Omar’s staph infection went undetected by doctors. A spokeswoman said the hospital would look into “what more could have been done to detect the infection at that time.”