Malpractice Wrongful Death Lawsuit by Couple Falsely Accused of Abusing Their Child Filed Against Children’s Hospital

Are there many things in this life worse than losing your child?

What if you lost two children?

What if you lost two children, you were wrongly accused of causing both of their deaths through child abuse, and one of the accusers in one of the deaths was the hospital that may have been able to prevent the death from ever even occurring?

The Dayton Daily News reports that may be what happened in the tragic case of Landen Shawen.  Before we get to that case, we will first briefly detail the death of ANOTHER one of the same parents’ children, approximately 3 years ago.  As reported previously back in October of 2006 by the Dayton Daily News in an article:

A Kettering baby whose death this summer was labeled suspicious by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office died from natural causes, a coroner’s report shows.

Ethan Alan Shawen, who was 2 months old when he died Aug. 20 at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, died from meningitis caused by an unknown organism, according to the report released Oct. 4. An autopsy showed no signs of child abuse.

As if this tragedy was not enough grief for parents Amber and Preston Shawen to have to suffer with, their second child, Landon, died a tragic death on March 31, 2009 at Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, at 6 weeks of age, the very same hospital where their first child died.  The cause?  Here is a quote from the article:

On March 31, 2009, the couple’s 6-week-old son Landon died at Children’s Medical Center. Doctors accused the couple of abuse, and Children Services took custody of their 19-month-old daughter.

On June 5, the coroner’s office ruled that Landon died from venous thrombosis coagulopathy disorder, an easily treatable genetic disorder, which the lawsuit states is the same disorder that killed Ethan. Had the family been told of the neuropathologist’s report, Landon’s death could have been prevented, the lawsuit states.

The hospital’s current position, as posted in the article, goes as follows:  

Vicki Giambrone, a hospital vice president, said the hospital has a legal duty to report suspected cases of abuse.

“Dayton Children’s does not investigate these cases, nor do we accuse people or pass judgment,” Giambrone said. She declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.

Note that the article states that the Shawens’ THIRD child, a 19 month old little girl, was taken into custody by Children Services after the hospital’s allegations.  How much more loss can one family take?  What a tragedy!

Tags: Medical Malpractice, Nash and Associates, wrongful death