By Paul Sisson | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune
A recently filed lawsuit accuses Sharp Grossmont Hospital of negligent care that led to the death of a 4-year-old boy from Canada who visited San Diego with his parents in August 2023.
According to a civil complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court on Oct. 31, Chrestina Yousif and Laith Hashim took their son, Yousif Laith Hashim, to the La Mesa hospital's emergency department on Aug. 8, 2023, with a troubling set of symptoms that included a high fever, increased heart rate, an "altered mental status" and vomiting. Allegedly discharged on ibuprofen and Tylenol after testing positive for coronavirus infection, the boy, according to the lawsuit, was readmitted one day later with worsening symptoms that put him in critical condition.
He died, said Omid Rejali, the couple's San Diego attorney, five days later after his condition worsened enough that Grossmont staff transferred the boy to Rady Children's Hospital in Serra Mesa.
Rejali said in an email Friday that his clients, who were in town visiting family when the incident occurred, are suing Grossmont and not Rady "because Grossmont is the one that failed to make the proper (diagnosis)."
The lawsuit accuses Grossmont of failing "to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic workup" that would have addressed the possibility that the child's symptoms signaled a more complex and severe diagnosis such as "sepsis or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children."
Often called "MIS-C," the condition is characterized by widespread inflammation that can damage internal organs and blood vessels. Clinical guidelines published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend laboratory testing for markers of inflammation and for indications that there has been impact to vital organs, such as quantifying cardiac and liver enzyme levels and gauging blood composition. For those who exhibit the constellation of symptoms that point to MIS-C, anti-inflammatory drugs are often prescribed.
Sepsis, a condition where the body's immune system overreacts to an infection causing a cascade of organ failure if not treated quickly enough, can cause a rapid heartrate, confusion or disorientation and fever, according to the CDC, and similar testing is used to confirm the need for additional treatment, often including antibiotics if a bacterial infection is confirmed.
Rejali said Friday that brain death and respiratory failure are the primary causes listed by the medical examiner, with liver and kidney failure, multi-organ failure, and sceptic shock listed as contributing factors.
Asked for comment on the lawsuit, Sharp Healthcare said: "While we are unable to provide any specific comments on this patient's clinical conditions and ultimate outcome, our sympathies are with the family."
Grossmont's safety and quality ratings from outside arbiters are mixed. The hospital earned A grades in 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024 from the Leapfrog Group, which issues biannual report cards that examine a wide range of safety-related factors from infections and problems with surgery to staffing levels and error-prevention practices. However, Hospital Compare, the federal government's hospital ratings system that looks at the results experienced by patients with Medicare coverage, rates the facility two of five stars overall and three of five stars for the patient experience it provides.