Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $15M Award

Two doctors in Boston committed medical malpractice that resulted in the death of a 3-year old boy, according a verdict by a Massachusetts jury that awarded the boy’s family $15 million.

The verdict was handed down last week by a Suffolk County Superior Court jury in a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. James Lock and Dr. James A. DiNardo of Children’s Hospital Boston. The family of Jason Fox, who died at age 3 in December 2004, alleged that the doctors botched a procedure intended to fix a heart birth defect.

According to a report in the Boston Globe, the parties reached an agreement before the verdict, which will limit the amount of the actual damages paid to the family.

Fox had a heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot, which restricts the flow of blood and oxygen to organs and limbs. He underwent eight procedures at different facilities before being referred to Children’s Hospital Boston, where they attempted to widen his pulmonary arteries.

But Fox suffered brain damage after a contrasting agent, injected to help give better CAT scan results, leaked into his brain. The contrast dye caused Jason to suffer a seizure and brain damage. It was also discovered that there was a small piece of metal lodged in his brain which possibly broke off during an earlier procedure.

When he was discharged from the hospital, the boy had lost the ability to speak and walk. The family alleged that doctors withheld information about his treatment, and the Board of Registration in Medicine is investigating Lock, DiNardo and Dr. Peter Laussen, the head of the hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit. Laussen and one other doctor were found to be negligent, but not responsible for Fox’s death.

The jury awarded the boy’s parents $5 million for his pain and suffering, $5 million for the loss of a child, and $5 million for his wrongful death. Details of the agreement reached before the verdict were not publicized, so it is unclear exactly how much the family will receive.