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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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State report links baby's death to numerous hospital errors
Monday April 21, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) State health inspectors say a series of
medical errors caused the death of a 16-month-old girl who entered
UCLA Medical last year to fix a cleft palate, the Los Angeles Times
reported.
An autopsy of Delaney Lucille Gonzalez said she died from lack
of oxygen after a misplaced breathing tube pumped air into her
stomach instead of her lungs, according to the newspaper.
But a report by the California Department of Health suggest that
was just one of the problems. The radiology department waited hours
before reviewing X-rays that would have identified problems. The
report also cited failure to replace a malfunctioning
carbon-dioxide breathing monitor, and it noted that despite
doctor's orders, staff members did not alert supervisors when the
girl's condition worsened.
``There is absoluteley no question that...these violations led
to the baby's death,'' said Brenda Klutz, deputy director of
licensing and certification at the California Department of Health
Services.
On Delaney's death certificate, a UCLA physician initially wrote
``airway obstruction'' as the cause of death, but after an autopsy,
the Los Angeles County coroner added the breathing tube as the
cause.
Delaney's parents, Jodi and Danny Gonzalez, sued the hospital
and the University of California regents for negligence and failure
to provide correct information on Delaney's death certificate.
UCLA declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation,
the Times said.
But the hospital released a statement expressing its sadness
over Delaney's death and its condolences to her family.
``As always, UCLA Medical Center's first priority is to provide
the highest standard in quality patient care and safety,'' the
statement also said.
In response to the report, UCLA has pledged to improve its
system of care and is working with state health officials. In an
unrelated move, the UC system in March announced plans to track
medical areas at its five campus medical centers by internet.
Jodi and Danny Gonzalez, who are now expecting another child,
say they hope the lawsuit will force changes in the system.
``No one should have to go through this ever,'' Danny Gonzalez
said. ``My last memory was handing her to the doctor, giving her a
kiss and watching her get carried away.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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