Parents sue Tripler over infant's disabilities
The federal suit claims the Army hospital staff acted carelessly when the boy was a patient
The parents of a 2-year-old boy claim that "carelessness" by Tripler Army Medical Center personnel resulted in heart failure and brain damage that left him paralyzed and blind.
Karen and Darius Kohl seek an unspecified amount in damages in a malpractice suit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court.
Their son, Parker Benjamin Kohl, was born on Dec. 18, 2003, with a heart defect that had been detected in a prenatal ultrasound, according to the suit filed by attorney Richard Fried Jr. Plans were made for future surgery at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in California.
The boy developed viral pneumonia and was hospitalized in Tripler on May 3, 2004.
The suit claims that "negligent acts and omissions" by Tripler personnel included removing a breathing tube May 12, 2004, which resulted in respiratory failure. The Kohls' suit said the medical staff members failed to monitor breathing, heart rate, blood gases and chemistry and to ensure intravenous access before he suffered cardiopulmonary arrest May 13, 2004. It said the boy suffered a second heart stoppage on June 2.
The heart failures led to "massive brain damage," which left the infant blind and with spastic quadriplegia, breathing through a tracheotomy and being fed through a stomach incision.
The suit claims that the "actions and omissions" of hospital employees will deprive the child of the ability to recognize and reciprocate "his parents' love, care, counsel" and "be unable to pursue activities, including sports, hobbies, human and family relation." It seeks compensation for the losses.