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http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/marlette-couple-plans-to-sue-after-son-dies-20110104-wpms
Marlette Couple Plans to Sue after Son, 10, Dies
Updated: Tuesday, 04 Jan 2011, 9:17 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 04 Jan 2011, 9:17 PM EST
By ROOP RAJ
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com
DETROIT (WJBK) - The mother and father of Connor Burton came to Detroit from the small town of Marlette, Michigan to file a lawsuit against a doctor that performed a tonsillectomy on their son, who was seven years old at the time. Close to three-and-a-half years later, the boy died in his sleep. The parents said the doctor should have known.
"They tried to revive him three times there, and from there we went to the hospital," said Jay Burton, the boy's father.
The morning of April 17, 2009 is hard to forget for Jay and Suzanne Burton. Their ten-year-old son, Connor, died that morning. The cause of death? Answers found in an EKG. Prolonged QT Syndrome is what doctors call it. It causes the heart to stop as it did for Connor that morning.
The problem? The EKG was taken in June of 2005. Close to three-and-a-half-years later, he died. Why didn't someone tell the parents that Connor had this medical condition?
"He could still be here. I mean, we would've done whatever was suggested by those physicians. He would've been on whatever medication. If he would've had to have a defibrillator, he would've had whatever it took," said Suzanne Burton.
After his death on Connor's behalf, his parents got their son's blood work tested. It proved he had the dangerous heart condition. They went back to the hospital and asked for all of the test results. That is when they discovered the EKG results nearly four years later.
They took his malpractice and wrongful death case to attorney Brian McKeen in Detroit. He said the EKG was taken on the 21st, but the doctor, Mohan Macha, did not initial it until eight days later.
"Obviously if someone's going to do a diagnostic test, they'd better look at the result, and if the result's abnormal, they should do something about it and not let the patient slip between the cracks," said McKeen.
The day before he died, the athletic fourth grader, an avid baseball and basketball player, exercised as usual, and then laid down and watched television before going to bed.
There were no symptoms. He did not slow down a bit.
The lawsuit claims this could have been prevented had Dr. Macha from Marlette Community Hospital said something. That is the most painful part.
"It's a simple test anymore. The unfortunate part is that it's a silent killer, and our son never physically gave us any indication that anything was wrong," Jay Burton said.
Dr. Macha has been made aware of the lawsuit as of last week. FOX 2 has been told it could be another 180 days until a lawsuit is officially filed.
FOX 2 called Marlette Community Hospital for a comment. A spokesperson told us that their thoughts and prayers are with the Burton family, but they will not comment on any pending lawsuit.
My issues with this are:
1. General surgeons dont have a cardiologist overread EKGs? That seems risky to me. Even if it doesnt change OR management, there are all sorts of subtle things under the surface that they arent trained to pick up on. I always assumed these pre-op EKGs get overread by a cardiologist later.
2. We all know the computer readouts dont mean jack, they consistently overcall stuff.
3. I'm not sure why this patient even needed a pre-op EKG in the first place.
Marlette Couple Plans to Sue after Son, 10, Dies
Updated: Tuesday, 04 Jan 2011, 9:17 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 04 Jan 2011, 9:17 PM EST
By ROOP RAJ
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com
DETROIT (WJBK) - The mother and father of Connor Burton came to Detroit from the small town of Marlette, Michigan to file a lawsuit against a doctor that performed a tonsillectomy on their son, who was seven years old at the time. Close to three-and-a-half years later, the boy died in his sleep. The parents said the doctor should have known.
"They tried to revive him three times there, and from there we went to the hospital," said Jay Burton, the boy's father.
The morning of April 17, 2009 is hard to forget for Jay and Suzanne Burton. Their ten-year-old son, Connor, died that morning. The cause of death? Answers found in an EKG. Prolonged QT Syndrome is what doctors call it. It causes the heart to stop as it did for Connor that morning.
The problem? The EKG was taken in June of 2005. Close to three-and-a-half-years later, he died. Why didn't someone tell the parents that Connor had this medical condition?
"He could still be here. I mean, we would've done whatever was suggested by those physicians. He would've been on whatever medication. If he would've had to have a defibrillator, he would've had whatever it took," said Suzanne Burton.
After his death on Connor's behalf, his parents got their son's blood work tested. It proved he had the dangerous heart condition. They went back to the hospital and asked for all of the test results. That is when they discovered the EKG results nearly four years later.
They took his malpractice and wrongful death case to attorney Brian McKeen in Detroit. He said the EKG was taken on the 21st, but the doctor, Mohan Macha, did not initial it until eight days later.
"Obviously if someone's going to do a diagnostic test, they'd better look at the result, and if the result's abnormal, they should do something about it and not let the patient slip between the cracks," said McKeen.
The day before he died, the athletic fourth grader, an avid baseball and basketball player, exercised as usual, and then laid down and watched television before going to bed.
There were no symptoms. He did not slow down a bit.
The lawsuit claims this could have been prevented had Dr. Macha from Marlette Community Hospital said something. That is the most painful part.
"It's a simple test anymore. The unfortunate part is that it's a silent killer, and our son never physically gave us any indication that anything was wrong," Jay Burton said.
Dr. Macha has been made aware of the lawsuit as of last week. FOX 2 has been told it could be another 180 days until a lawsuit is officially filed.
FOX 2 called Marlette Community Hospital for a comment. A spokesperson told us that their thoughts and prayers are with the Burton family, but they will not comment on any pending lawsuit.
My issues with this are:
1. General surgeons dont have a cardiologist overread EKGs? That seems risky to me. Even if it doesnt change OR management, there are all sorts of subtle things under the surface that they arent trained to pick up on. I always assumed these pre-op EKGs get overread by a cardiologist later.
2. We all know the computer readouts dont mean jack, they consistently overcall stuff.
3. I'm not sure why this patient even needed a pre-op EKG in the first place.
