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Parents Sue Jacksonville Naval Hospital Over Baby's Death

Posted on: Thursday, 8 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Kate Wiltrout, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Dec. 8--NORFOLK -- Jessica and Thomas Hugaboom say they want other Navy parents to learn from their medical nightmare: Don't be afraid to ask doctors lots of questions or insist on a second opinion.

The lesson applies to civilians, too -- but it's Jacksonville Naval Hospital, where their 7-month-old son was treated, that played a central role in the couple's heartbreak.

Michael Hugaboom died Feb. 7, 2004, of undiagnosed meningitis and a massive bacterial infection, according to medical records. They also show the child had been to the emergency room at the base hospital three times over four days, besides visiting a Navy acute care clinic and family practice. His parents made four phone calls to the hospital's medical hot line during that time.

Over those four days, Michael's diagnosis changed from upper respiratory infection, to bronchitis, and, finally, chickenpox. With the last diagnosis, the Hugabooms say they were told not to bring their son back to the hospital because he was contagious.

At no time did the doctors or nurses order a blood test, urine sample or blood culture, Jessica Hugaboom said. When she requested a blood test on the third visit, she said the physician told her she was "100 percent certain" Michael had chickenpox.

Michael stopped breathing at home three days later. Paramedics thought he had been scalded, his mother said, because his arms and legs had broken out in blisters with red halos around them.

An autopsy showed Michael had abscesses in his liver, a markedly distended gallbladder and infected kidneys. There were abscesses and pus in his brain. The cause of death, according to a county medical examiner: sepsis -- infection of the bloodstream -- and meningitis.

Jessica and Thomas Hugaboom, a petty officer 2nd class now assigned to the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in Norfolk, have filed a $15 million claim against the federal government, alleging that naval hospital negligence was directly responsible for Michael's death.

"We trusted doctors," Jessica Hugaboom said Wednesday at a press conference in Norfolk. "I still miss our son. I pray every night that another family member doesn't have to go through this."

The couple's Jacksonville attorney, Sean Cronin, called the Hugabooms' case "the tip of an iceberg" at the hospital.

A former Navy pilot who still serves in the Reserve, Cronin contends that Jacksonville Naval Hospital does not provide "continuity of care." He said doctors and nurses too often fail to read charts and reports, and they don't order necessary tests. Cronin is handling 10 cases against the hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Dependents cannot sue the government if a military member is injured or dies because of negligence in a military hospital; a precedent called the Feres Doctrine prevents those lawsuits.

But the rule doesn't apply for family members who are injured or die from negligence. Earlier this month, Jacksonville Naval Hospital was ordered to pay almost $61 million in a malpractice case involving a baby who sustained permanent brain damage during delivery.

Thomas Hugaboom, 27, said he doesn't hold the Navy responsible for his son's death; instead, he faults the hospital itself. Hugaboom, a sailor for more than 9 years, met Jessica when both were assigned to the Abraham Lincoln, based in Everett, Wash.

He and his wife had always received good medical care from Navy physicians, he said. And both loved the doctor who was Jessica's obstetrician and Michael's pediatrician.

"I felt like I could trust them," Thomas Hugaboom said. "I had utmost faith in the hospital."

For now, 30-year-old Jessica Hugaboom is getting prenatal care at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center. She is five months pregnant with their second son.

She isn't sure whether she will give birth there. "I have mixed feelings about it," she said.

A check of the Norfolk federal court showed that three cases of alleged medical malpractice involving children have been filed this year against Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, the Navy's oldest hospital.

Those cases are pending.

Reporter Tim McGlone contributed to this report.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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