Failure to Diagnose Lawsuit Alleges 7 Year Old Boy Left Blind from Meningitis

The family of a 7-year-old Connecticut boy has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit that alleges a doctor’s failure to diagnose meningitis has left their child blind. 

The complaint was filed by Katherine Mlodzinski, mother of Adam Mlodzinski, against Healthwise Medical Associates and Dr. Judy Huang-Bulger, in Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut on January 9.

According to the misdiagnosis lawsuit, Dr. Huang-Bulger originally indicated that Adam had an ear infection, when he actually had bacterial meningitis.

The doctor allegedly ignored complaints from the family that there was more wrong, as evidenced by the severity of his headaches. The family took the boy to seek treatment for the headaches in the fall of 2009. When the family went back to see Dr. Huang-Bulger again, concerned that her diagnosis could be incorrect, they claim they were turned away by her secretary.

According to a report by the Hartford Courant, attorneys representing Healthwise, which was doing business as Vernon Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, and Dr. Huang-Bulger deny the family’s malpractice allegations and maintain that there was no wrongdoing or medical missteps.

Bacterial meningitis attacks the spinal chord and brain, causing inflammation and swelling.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), early diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis is crucial to avoiding permanent injury or even death in some cases. It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.

Another doctor’s assessment of the incident, submitted on behalf of the family, says that Healthwise and Dr. Huang-Bulger failed to meet accepted standards of care in the case. The assessment indicates that only a nurse or physician should determine if someone needs treatment, not a receptionist. The statement also indicates that the level of acute distress suffered by Adam Mlodzinski, which was so intense as to hinder Dr. Huang-Bulger’s ability to perform a neurological exam when she finally did see him on November 3, 2009, should have raised warning flags that more was wrong than an ear infection. She subsequently sent him to have a CAT scan, which led to another incorrect diagnosis that he suffered from migraines.

As a result of the incident and Adam’s blindness, the family has launched a website, www.adamsadventure.org, which is aimed at raising money for a handicap accessible playground for children in Tolland, the family’s home town.