Audra Freeman and Scott Freeman v. Agoura-West Valley Pediatric Medical Group, Kenneth Spaulding, Kenneth Cosmer
Published: Jun. 10, 2000 | Result Date: Mar. 17, 2000 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: LC041474 Arbitration – $250,999
Court
L.A. Superior Van Nuys
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Louis "Duke" DeHaas Jr.
(LaFollette, Johnson, De Haas, Fesler & Ames APC)
Experts
Plaintiff
Lawrence T. Fisher
(medical)
Defendant
Marshall Sachs
(medical)
Facts
On June 18, 1996, Devon Freeman, 17-month-old baby at the time, awoke with a little wheezing. However, Audra Freeman, Devon's mother, did not believe he was ill and provided him with an over the counter medication. She took him to daycare at approximately 8:15 a.m. At 9:15 a.m., the day care center called and told her that Devon was having a hard time breathing. The mother then brought Devon to Dr. Spaulding, who had cared for Devon since birth. Though Devon's breathing was labored, they waited for 45 minutes. Following an examination, Dr. Spaulding said that it "sounded like croup." Devon was put on a hand held nebulizer to provide him Albuteral mist and given a dose of Tylenol. Dr. Spaulding released Devon home and prescribed Prelone, an anti-inflammatory medication which the mother filled immediately, and gave to Devon in the parking lot. Dr. Spaulding told her that if Devon's breathing got worse, she needed to call back and she could come to pick up a breathing machine. When she got home, Devon began having serious difficulty breathing. The mother immediately called the office but Dr. Spaulding was no longer there. She was turned over to Dr. Cosmer, who was the on-call doctor. Dr. Cosmer's response was to turn the shower on, give Devon steam for 20 minutes and to call back if he wasn't any better. The mother told Dr. Cosmer that Devon's body was "thrusting for air" and he "couldn't get enough air in." Dr. Cosmer replied that the steam will help. By the time the shower was turned on, Devon couldn't breathe. She then called 911 and attempted CPR. When the paramedics arrived, Devon had gone into respiratory arrest. He survived for three days on a ventilator, but died three days later.
Other Information
<A>An arbitration was held before Phillip Saeta, neutral arbitrator; David Hoffman, claimant's arbitrator; and P. Theodore Hammond, respondent's arbitrator.</A>
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