Doctor faces P2.4 M suit for child’s death

A DOCTOR assigned in a government hospital faces a P2.4 million damage suit filed  by a Talisay City resident whose three-year-old son died following an operation last Sept. 12.

In his complaint, Davin Sedeño accused the doctor of negligence that led to the death of his son Raven.

The identities of the doctor and the hospital she worked for were withheld until their sides are heard on the incident.

In his complaint, Sedeño said his son Raven James was born with an imperforate anus.

He said Raven underwent two surgeries to heal his defect. Last Sept. 12, Sedeño said his son was brought to the operating room for a “colostomy takedown.”

He said he was told by the doctor to monitor the child’s stomach.

The following day, the doctor told Sedeño not to feed or give drinks to his son and give him medicines instead.

Sedeño endorsed the medicines to the nurse station but the doctor supposedly didn’t leave any instructions on how to administer the medicines.

At 11 am, the child supposedly defecated but complained of pain in his hand where a catheter was inserted.

Sedeño said he asked help from a nurse who removed the catheter from Raven’s left hand.

The nurse tried but failed to insert another one on the boy’s right hand as she could not find a vein.

Sedeño said the nurse on duty told him to just wait for the doctor.

He said the nurse told him the doctor didn’t leave her any instructions on what to do with his son.

At 6 pm, Sedeño said someone managed to insert a catheter on Raven.

Two hours later, the boy had a convulsion and Sedeño said the nurse instructed him to wrap the boy’s body with a blanket.

At 8 pm, the doctor arrived and Sedeño said his son had difficulty in breathing.

He was told that a mechanical ventilator was needed to help his son breathe.

Sedeño said he raised P2,500 so he could rent one but was told there were no available unit left.

At 9:30 pm, Sedeño said he was told by the doctor to buy medicines.

When he returned with the medicines, the doctor supposedly set them aside.

At 10 pm, he asked the doctor about his son’s condition but she didn’t answer him.

It was only at 2 a.m, last Sept. 14, that Sedeño learned from another doctor that his son died.

The doctor who handled Raven said the boy died of pneumonia and/or dehydration since the boy had no “intravenous fluids” for seven hours.

Sedeño said the doctor then left and another doctor signed his son’s death certificate.

When he went to the morgue, Sedeño said he was surprised to see his son’s hands and feet tied.

Sedeño said another death certificate with the doctor’s signature was released by the hospital.

He said the cause of death stated on the certificate was different from the one released earlier. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol