Parents in New York and across the country often feel helpless when their small children are not feeling well. They do everything in their power to help them heal and make them more comfortable, but there are limits to what they can provide. As such, they often seek treatment from health care professionals. Unfortunately, one mother and father claimed in a medical malpractice lawsuit that they lost their daughter as a result of bad advice given to them.

The incident reportedly happened in Jan. 2016. The child, who was just over a year old, was reportedly suffering from a high fever and a “barking,” “croupy” cough. Her mother took her to a federally qualified health center where a physician’s assistant diagnosed her with croup, gave her a prescription and sent her home.

Unfortunately, several hours later, her father reportedly noticed that she was not breathing and initiated CPR. When rescue workers arrived, they were able to revive her and transported her to the hospital. Unfortunately by that time, she had suffered hypoxic brain damage. Doctors warned her parents that if she survived, she would not be the same person she was before. She died five days later.

The mother claims that medical malpractice at the hands of the physician’s assistant led to her daughter’s death; had the health care worker sent them to the hospital instead of home, she believes the little girl would still be alive. The parents and the federal government recently settled the resultant lawsuit for $750,000. Though attorneys for the government claimed the daughter received appropriate care, the mother believes that the settlement places the responsibility of the young girl’s death where it belongs. Unfortunately, this child is not the only one who has been a victim of medical negligence; families in New York who have suffered similar mistreatment also have the option of seeking justice by filing a personal injury lawsuit.