$6.25M Jury Verdict in Child’s Medical Malpractice Death

A Luzerne County family has been awarded a $6.25 million medical malpractice jury verdict in connection with the 2009 death of their two-year-old daughter following a stomach ailment.

The child, Lauren Marie Readler, died Oct. 26, 2009, after being treated for stomach troubles and released from Harrisburg Hospital months before in July 2009, according to a May 21 story in the (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Citizens’ Voice newspaper. The child’s parents, Thomas and Lori Readler, filed a lawsuit after the girl’s death against doctors at Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital, Geisinger Partners in Pediatrics-Nanticoke and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, where the child died, according to the story.

The plaintiffs alleged that the doctors “failed to diagnose that Lauren’s stomach had gotten twisted and she was sent home without surgery or any specific instructions for her care,” the story reported. “Doctors and medics repeatedly failed to pick up on cues that something was dangerously wrong,” the plaintiff’s argued, the story continued. The child later died of sepsis caused by a ruptured stomach, according to the report.

X-rays taken at Carlisle Medical Center in Carlisle on July 28, 2009, where the child was first taken before being transferred later to Harrisburg Hospital, showed the child was suffering from an out of place stomach, which indicated “there was a problem with the ligaments that should hold it in place,” the story said. The problem required surgery to keep it from happening again, but it was not treated, the story reported.

After hearing the testimony in Luzerne County Court in a four-week trial, the jury awarded the deceased child’s family $3.7 million in wrongful death damages, $2.5 million for future loss of earnings and lost earning capacity and $50,000 for mental and physical pain and suffering, the report continued.

These kinds of cases are a somber reminder that patients and their families must be vigilant about the medical care they receive so they know what is being done for a patient’s care every step of the way. But at the same time, patients and families aren’t doctors and they can’t know every question to ask.

That’s where skilled, expert, compassionate and thorough legal representation is needed by patients and their families who have been harmed by medical errors or omissions during their treatment. These kinds of cases happen on a regular basis, but they can be fought by legal teams that are prepared to battle for their clients’ rights all along the way to a fair settlement or to a just verdict.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in a similar medical malpractice, birth injury or related case anywhere in the United States. We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

When Winning Matters Most, Call MyPhillyLawyer.