Minnesota Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $1.25M Verdict for Toddler Death

The family of a 21-month old boy who died of untreated appendicitis was awarded $1.25 million last week in a Minnesota malpractice lawsuit.

The misdiagnosis lawsuit was filed by the family of Andrew Morrow, who died on January 31, 2008 from a blood infection caused by a gangrenous appendicitis. According to a report by the Duluth News Tribune, a St. Louis County jury determined last Monday that Morrow’s pediatrician, Dr. Kevin G. Krause was negligent for failing to diagnose the boy’s condition, which could have saved his life.

Krause was accused of misdiagnosing Morrow twice in four days. At first, the child was diagnosed with influenza after a phone conversation, and later incorrectly diagnosed with gastroenteritis. The lawsuit alleged that Krause discouraged the parents from bringing the boy to see him, did not have an ultrasound or CT scan done to determine the source of the child’s abdominal pain, and told the parents that his appendix was fine.

During the trial, the family presented evidence revealing that Krause, a pediatrics specialist at the Mesaba Clinic in Hibbing, Minnesota, was seeing up to 45 children per day and was scheduling appointments for them in 10-minute increments.

The lawsuit alleges that Krause was an hour behind on his schedule when he saw Morrow and gave the wrong diagnosis in an examination that lasted less than 10 minutes.