malpractice?

i am living in virginia right now and have for the last 6 months. i was living in ohio prior to that. i am seperated from(we were married) a man who is serving a prison sentence for felonious assault against our youngest daughter who is presently 11 months old. last june he shook her almost to the point of death and she has been left permanently disbled. the day this happend she was taken her pediatrician who sent her to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with shaken baby and sent to a children's hospital for treatment. my question regards her diagnosis. nine days prior to this she went to the same pediatrician and emergency room for the same symptoms only less severe. they sent her home saying she was just dehydrated. nine days later at the children's hospital i was told that she had hemmorages on her brain of differing ages, meaning she had been shaken twice and that when she went to the doctor the first time she was misdiagnosed. my question is if this is malpractice because of the misdiagnosis. because she was not tested and diagnosed correctly the first time, she was shaken by this person again and left permenantly disabled. i was just wondering if my daughter or myself had any rights or if this is something that just can happen. thank you for your help.

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.


1. These are questions a medical malpractice attorney will have to look into:

a. Was the misdiagnosis reasonable? I.e. do they typically mistake shaken baby syndrome for other injuries because the symptoms/injuries are so similar?

b. Would the baby have been diagnosed correctly but for the negligence of the doctor/emergency room?

c. Are you in the eyes of law in any way liable?

[url]http://www.attorneypages.com[/url] or call your state bar and start talking to an attorney who can help you sort through these questions and more.

Thank you lawrat for your information. I have read that gastroenteritis is the leading misdiagnosis for shaken baby syndrome, and that is what the er doctors sent my daughter home with. I was in no way related to the shaking, in any way and have full custody of both of our daughters. I guess the only question I have left is why the doctors did not perform the same tests on the first visit and they did when she was sent to the er the second time. I can only assume that it is the doctors responsibility to uncover the reason for symptoms like these in an infant and not to assume that it probably something. Had my daughter been thoroughly examined, they would have seen a hemorrage on her brain. That evidence was there and just overlooked. I know that my anger as a mother drives me to want to place blame so I may not be entirely open about it. If you have any opinions on whether or not I should seek out an attorney regarding this matter, I would simply take it as an opinion, but would be grateful. I have very few options at this point and am left with enourmous responsibility, debt, and heartache. At 24 I was not prepared to raise two children on my own, one of which is now disabled. Thank you again for your help.

While I can't even imagine what you're going thru, I can say this...
Most attorneys will listen to you for free the first time. (consultation) That, at this point would be your best bet. Talk to a couple of them, see what they say. It won't cost you anything... it may gain you some $$ for the care of your little one.