Parents Sue Hospital, Claiming Its Delay in Treating Daughter's Strep Resulted in Amputation

Feb. 16, 2011— -- Parents of 2-year old Malyia Jeffers are suing a Sacramento hospital after alleged ER negligence resulted in the amputation of their daughter's hands and feet.

Malyia's parents brought her to Methodist Hospital in Sacramento because their daughter had a high temperature, but despite their child's increasing weakness and persistent fever stemming from an advanced strep infection, they say Malyia did not receive treatment for five hours, Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV reports.

"At this point she couldn't walk," the girl's father, Ryan Jeffers, told KXTV. "I was carrying her around for another hour and a half. They tell us we're next, so we're figuring we're next. Still hours went by, so I really told them that ... you have to see her now. Her fever's gone up, hasn't gone down from the Motrin or Tylenol."

Once seen by medical staff, Malyia's condition required that she be flown to Stanford University Hospital, where she was diagnosed with septic shock. The shock resulted in the loss of her feet, her left hand and part of her right hand.

In rare, more aggressive types of strep, the streptococcus bacteria that causes the illness can move from the throat to the bloodstream and the resulting sepsis can lead to the loss of extremities, says Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician in Austin, Texas, and co-author of "Baby 411."

"When the bacterial infection goes through the bloodstream, you have sepsis and a problem with your blood clotting ability. As a result, [the infection] cuts off the blood flow to the extremities and those areas die," Brown says.

The family has filed a medical malpractice suit against the hospital and five emergency room employees, suing for compensation for their daughter's past, present and future medical bills, according to court documents.

In response to the lawsuit, the hospital released a statement saying: "At Methodist Hospital, patient care and safety is our priority. We were sorry to hear about the eventual outcome for Malyia and our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. We are unable to comment on matters of pending litigation."