A chareidi couple from the Geula area of Jerusalem chose to have their child in the city’s Shaare Zedek Hospital. The twins were born in the 33rd week of pregnancy. The Apgar scores following birth were normal, and after 12 days, due to an erroneous diagnosis according to the parents, the older twin died due to a necrotic intestine.

Attorney Yaron Festinger and attorney Liat Rokeach-Shulman of Ron-Festinger, who specializes in medical malpractice, filed a claim in the name of the parents seeking damages in the amount of NIS 2.5 million against Shaare Zedek Medical Center following the death of their son due to failed and negligent medical treatment given to him.

The deceased was born as a premature child, and from the sixth day of his life he suffered from various health symptoms. The doctors who noticed this diagnosed the infant incorrectly and also without any findings or evidence explaining their diagnosis. In the days following the birth, the baby’s condition deteriorated, and despite this, the doctors did not change the diagnosis, even though the symptoms were likely to indicate quite a few life-threatening conditions.

The family notes that at this stage, the initial diagnosis that the child suffers from an epilepsy was no longer appropriate for the baby’s medical condition, which continued to deteriorate.

According to the parents, on the tenth day of his life, the doctors took x-rays, which were not properly interpreted, and the doctors continued to adhere to their initial assumption (although this is a rare diagnosis among pre-term infants).

On the eleventh day of the baby’s life, his body systems began to collapse and only then was it decided to perform a surgical intervention in which the baby was found to have intestinal necrosis, which, if detected and properly treated, could have prevented the baby’s death.

The next morning, the doctors had to stop the baby’s respiration and determine his death.

Kikar Shabbos News adds that efforts were made to contact Shaare Zedek Hospital for a response, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)