QUEBEC CITY – The mother of the 22-month-old baby who died of meningitis last week is filing a complaint against the medical facility that treated him.
The young Caleb, from Lévis, south of Quebec City, died after a doctor from Centre Paul-Gilbert sent him home with a 40 degree fever and a bad headache. His mother told Radio-Canada that she questioned the doctor’s diagnosis, insisting it could be meningitis, but the doctor reassured her that it wasn’t.
The complaint is now in the hands of a medical examiner who has 45 days to investigate and get back to the mother (who wishes to stay anonymous). She said all she wants at this point is for the clinic to change its ways and never again let a child with a 40 degree fever go home without proper treatment.
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Paul Brunet, president of Conseil pour la protection des malades, called it a tragic case of wrongful diagnosis. “There are two problems here, first the too summary and certainly wrongful diagnosis rendered by the physician and second, not having transferred the patient to adequate resources for acute care such as evidently the kid seemed to be in need of,” he said.
Brunet expects a court case, but says it’s often difficult for families to sue insurance-clad doctors and hospitals. Most court cases in Canada, he says, finish without the families ever seeing compensation.
“What is important, and our thoughts are with the family now, is to make sure the hospital proposes to the family to meet with them to say at least that they’re sorry, that would be a minimum in the circumstances,” said Brunet.
Last week, two children from different installations of the same Lévis daycare contracted meningitis and died within days of each other. They were 22 months and four years old. Public health officials said it was “bad luck” and reassured Quebecers there was no epidemic or outbreak of the highly contagious disease.
Public health warned parents they should rush their children to hospital if symptoms such as high fever and purple spots appear.
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