Atlanta Family Secures $2,500,000 Medical Malpractice Settlement After ER Fails to Diagnose Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Child
A tragic emergency room failure to diagnose diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in a 12-year-old girl led to her wrongful death – and eventually, a $2.5 million pediatric malpractice settlement for her family in Atlanta, GA. This case, handled by Davis Adams, underscores how a preventable misdiagnosis can shatter a family and why accountability matters.
Emergency Room Failure to Diagnose DKA
The young girl arrived at a large Atlanta hospital’s ER with classic signs of DKA – persistent vomiting, dehydration, and other red flags consistent with a diabetic crisis. Critically, the ER physician did not perform the basic urinalysis test needed to confirm DKA, which would have detected high ketone levels. Instead, he dismissed these alarming symptoms as a simple viral illness and sent the child home without proper treatment. (Tragically, this kind of oversight – mistaking a life-threatening condition for a harmless infection – is an all-too-common theme in pediatric infection misdiagnosis cases.)
Over the next 48 hours, the child’s condition spiraled. Without insulin and fluids, her body went into organ failure – the foreseeable outcome of untreated DKA. She was rushed back to the hospital as her condition worsened, but it was too late. The young girl tragically passed away, just two days after that ER visit. This heartbreaking outcome was entirely preventable: DKA is a treatable emergency, and timely intervention almost certainly would have saved her life. In fact, one multi-hospital analysis found that children whose DKA was initially missed in the ER had a dramatically higher risk of life-threatening complications – including a 28-fold higher likelihood of death – compared to cases caught early. It’s a sobering statistic that highlights the grave consequences of a diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis in an emergency setting.
Holding the ER Accountable: Atlanta DKA Misdiagnosis Lawsuit
Reeling from her daughter’s death, the child’s mother turned to Davis Adams for help. Our Atlanta medical malpractice team immediately launched a comprehensive investigation into what went wrong. We obtained ER records, lab reports, and hospital protocols, quickly identifying the lapses in care – including the failure to order a simple urine test and blood work that would have diagnosed DKA. The case was filed in DeKalb County, Georgia, as an Atlanta child DKA misdiagnosis lawsuit, naming both the emergency room physician and the healthcare corporations that ran the ER as defendants. Davis Adams attorneys also consulted leading pediatric endocrinologists and emergency medicine experts who reviewed the evidence. Their expert testimony was damning: the child’s presentation in the ER made DKA obvious, and any reasonably competent ER doctor should have recognized the danger. Failing to diagnose and treat her on that first visit was a clear breach of the standard of care. Those experts further confirmed what the family already knew – had the hospital promptly started DKA treatment, this 12-year-old would have survived. Armed with these facts, our legal team built a compelling wrongful death case emphasizing that the ER’s negligence directly led to a preventable loss of life.
$2.5 Million Settlement Provides a Measure of Justice
Facing the overwhelming evidence assembled by Davis Adams, the doctor and hospital ultimately agreed to a $2.5 million diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis settlement in Atlanta, GA before the case ever reached trial. This pre-trial resolution provided a measure of justice and accountability without putting the family through the ordeal of a courtroom trial. While no amount of money can erase the heartbreak of losing a child, the settlement is a significant acknowledgment of the ER’s failures and holds the healthcare providers accountable for their negligence. It also offers the grieving mother some financial security for the future, and the solace of knowing that she fought for her daughter and won a measure of accountability.
In the aftermath of this case, the hope is that the hospital has recognized the grave mistake and improved its pediatric emergency protocols – so no other family has to endure such a tragedy. For the family, the settlement cannot fill the void left by their beloved daughter, but it represents a hard-fought victory on her behalf. This outcome also stands out among Davis Adams’ medical malpractice case results as a testament to the firm’s commitment to ensuring no family’s pleas for justice go unanswered. Empathetic and relentless advocacy made a difference here: a clear message was sent that wrongful death from untreated diabetes will not be swept under the rug. Through this case, the child’s memory lives on by driving change and underscoring the critical importance of diagnosing pediatric DKA before it’s too late.
