Medical negligence case study: Kate Pierce

Kate Pierce was a healthy nine-month-old until one night in March 2006 when her parents, Mark and Diane, began noticing signs of illness in their daughter. The baby developed some alarming symptoms, and an out-of-hours GP advised her parents to take the girl to the hospital.

At Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Dr Halenahalli Vijayakumar diagnosed the infant with viral tonsillitis. Skeptical of the junior doctor, Mr and Mrs Pierce asked Dr Vijayakumar to get a second opinion. Forty-five minutes later, he returned and informed the parents that his boss agreed with him. Kate was sent home.

A few hours later, the Pierces rushed Kate back to the hospital after her condition continued to deteriorate. This time she was correctly diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis and transferred to Alder Hey children’s hospital. The doctors were able to save Kate’s life, but she was left with severe brain damage.

Kate now requires constant assistance. She is blind, deaf, epileptic and suffers from a chronic lung condition that makes it difficult for her to breathe.

It was later revealed that Dr Vijayakumar had lied to the couple and failed to consult a senior doctor. The hospital admitted that because he was inexperienced, he should have consulted a pediatric registrar. The Pierce family filed a lawsuit against the hospital based on a negligence claim.

“Kate's life expectancy has been severely reduced and we have had to spend six years of that precious time with her battling with the [health] board," said Mark Pierce.

The Betsi Cadawalder University Health Board reached a seven-figure compensation settlement with the Pierce family in 2012 after the board accepted seventy-five percent responsibility for Kate’s condition. Dr Vijayakumar is still practicing and has not commented on the misdiagnosis or the negligence claim.

“The doctor concerned has not faced any sort of disciplinary action. We feel a complete breach of trust on the part of the hospital, “ Mark Pierce said. “We have absolutely no confidence that the hospital or doctor concerned have learned any lessons from this.”