On October 7, 2024, a judge approved a settlement in the amount of $10 million in a New Jersey medical malpractice case in which the parents of a twenty-month-old child alleged that an in-home health care provider who was a licensed practical nurse (LPN) negligently failed to correct a ventilator issue involving the child that led to the child being without oxygen for more than fifteen minutes, resulting in severe brain injuries. The parents received $1.5 million for their individual claims and the balance in the amount of $8.5 million will go towards the needs of the child throughout his lifetime. The amount of available medical malpractice insurance coverage was reported to be $11 million.
The child was born in October 2018 with birth defects that required surgery shortly after the birth, and required the child to be on a ventilator. The parents alleged that their child’s condition was progressively improving when, in June 2020, an in-home health care LPN’s negligence caused the child to suffer catastrophic injuries. According to the parents’ New Jersey medical malpractice complaint, the stored data from the ventilator showed repeated disconnects of the ventilator on the date of injury. The LPN noticed that the child was in respiratory distress and called for the mother to assist her. 911 was called and a responding police officer noticed that the child’s tracheostomy tube was not fully inserted. Once the tube was inserted properly, the child began breathing again but not before he was without oxygen for more than 15 minutes. As a result of the lack of oxygen for such a lengthy period of time, the child suffered cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and an anoxic brain injury resulting in epilepsy and cerebral palsy. The child is now unable to move and is totally dependent on the ventilator and medication to breathe.
The parents’ New Jersey medical malpractice complaint was filed in August 2021 and alleged that the LPN breached the standard of care and made inconsistent statements regarding the incident. The LPN’s employer was alleged to have failed to properly train and supervise the LPN.
The defendants denied liability and alleged that the parents were barred from recovery due to alleged comparative negligence and that they waited too long to sue.
The parents’ New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer stated after the settlement was reached, “We are very happy to get justice for the Voyez family after all of these years and to provide them with compensation so that they can provide the care their son’s needs. We wanted to get the full amount of the insurance policy, but we felt it was in Killian’s best interest to settle.”
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to LPN negligence in Pennsylvania or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney or a medical malpractice attorney in your state who may investigate your LPN medical negligence claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a LPN medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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