$30 Million Dollar Award Involving Army Medical Center: On May 22, 2023, a federal judge in Hawaii awarded $29,479,308 in a federal medical malpractice lawsuit involving the deficient medical care provided to a one-month-old baby who was brought to the Tripler Army Medical Center’s emergency room on September 22, 2016 with symptoms consistent with volvulus, which is a twisting of the intestine that can occur in childhood that causes a blockage that may cut off blood flow.
The medical staff at Tripler failed to diagnose and treat the newborn’s volvulus. The child did not receive life-saving surgical care until 19 hours later, after she was transferred to Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children the following day.
The child lost between 70% and 95% of her intestinal tract and therefore is unable to receive necessary nutrition from oral feeding alone. Now six-years-old, the child requires tube feeding and is medically dependent.
The family’s Hawaii medical malpractice lawyer stated after the award was issued, “The Tripler doctors watched this child die. They watched her small intestine die. They didn’t know what was wrong because they didn’t run the test. And over 19 hours, her small intestine could have been saved.”
“While we are pleased with the judgment, it is no substitute for the loss the Warren family suffered at Tripler’s hands. Had they just done the UGI and treated her volvulus in a timely manner, she would not have been permanently physically and mentally damaged.”
The child’s father served one year in Afghanistan in 2013. He stated after the judgment, “When I signed my contract, it was to protect and serve, and that’s what I did, and when it came time for them to do it, they didn’t.”
It has been reported that medical malpractice settlements and judgments involving Tripler Army Medical Center reached almost $100 million over the past ten years.
Treatment Of Volvulus
In some cases, colonoscopy can be used to correct the problem. Emergency surgery is often needed to repair the volvulus. A surgical cut is made in the abdomen so that the bowels can be untwisted and the blood supply restored. If a small segment of bowel is dead from a lack of blood flow (necrotic), it is removed. The ends of the bowel are then sewn together or they are used to form a connection of the intestines to the outside of the body (colostomy or ileostomy) through which bowel contents can be removed.
Volvulus “is an emergency condition. The symptoms of childhood volvulus develop quickly and the child will become very ill. Get medical attention right away if this happens… Symptoms are very often severe and require emergency care. Early treatment can be critical for survival.”
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