A Georgia family whose two-year-old daughter suffered a fatal allergic reaction to ant bites is suing a local hospital after claiming her death was preventable.
Toddler Maya Getahun was playing in her front yard on October 7 last year when she was bitten by fire ants and began showing signs of an allergic reaction, according to the lawsuit filed last week.
Her parents, Bethelhem Getu Hundie and Getahun Birhanu, immediately took her to Piedmont Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, Georgia. By the time she arrived, Maya had a rash while experiencing wheezing and labored breathing.
The lawsuit alleges healthcare staff then waited more than 20 minutes to give Maya epinephrine, the medication in an Epi-Pen used to treat allergic reactions.
Hospital staff then decided to intubate Maya when her blood oxygen saturation levels were at 97 percent, the lawsuit alleges.
Dr. Richisa Salazar, who is named as a defendant, then administered drugs that paralyzed Maya to prepare her for the intubation. After administering the drugs, however, Salazar realized the hospital didn’t have the proper child-sized equipment to perform the intubation, the lawsuit alleges.
Maya died soon afterward. Now, her parents and their attorneys say her death was “100% preventable.”
“If only the hospital staff had promptly administered epinephrine, Maya would still be alive,” Lloyd Bell, an attorney representing Maya’s family, said in a statement. “If only the hospital had the proper equipment to intubate a child, Maya would still be alive.”
“The failures at Piedmont Eastside, from delayed treatment to inadequate resources, were not only negligent but inexcusable,” he added.
Bell says Salazar has been named in two other medical malpractice cases prosecuted by his firm alone.
Maya’s family is now seeking a jury trial and damages related to their pain and suffering and the cost of her funeral.
“This case is about accountability,” Bell said. “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.”
The Independent has contacted Piedmont Eastside Medical Center and Salazar for comment.
