Girl to get $10M for amputations after ER delay
(AP) -- The family of a California girl whose extremities were amputated because of a lengthy emergency room delay has agreed to a $10 million malpractice settlement.
Malyia Jeffers was 2 years old when her parents took her to Sacramento's Methodist Hospital with a fever, skin discoloration and weakness. She was seen by a doctor five hours later and was flown to Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Stanford doctors found that Streptococcus A bacteria had invaded Malyia's blood and organs. Doctors amputated her feet, her left hand and part of her right hand.
A confidentiality agreement prevented attorneys in the case from discussing the settlement, but details were available in court documents. Most of the money will be placed in a trust for the girl's current needs and an annuity that will provide her with $16,000 a month when she turns 18, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The settlement with the Sacramento hospital and various emergency room workers ranks among the highest in California history, according to medical malpractice attorneys.
"We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the family and we wish Malyia only the very best in the future," Methodist Hospital spokeswoman Erin MacEneaney said.
Though many of Malyia's medical costs were covered by insurance, the family still has hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, leaving the family broke, her father, Ryan Jeffers, told the Bee.
He said his daughter still suffers extreme itching and pain in her limbs.
"Yes, we got a settlement," Jeffers said. "But all of this has made our lives miserable, and it's not over."
Malyia spent more than three months at Stanford before being admitted to another hospital in Sacramento. She is still undergoing therapy, and her family said she will need expensive medications, custom prosthetics, special garments and wheelchairs for the rest of her life.
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