A Fermont couple is suing three doctors, CISSS de la Côte-Nord and CHUL in Quebec for more than $600,000. The parents accuse three doctors of making mistakes that led to their child’s death four years ago.
On October 4, 2019, a mother was alerted by the daycare teacher. Her two-year-old son Olivier was not doing well. She then transported him to the emergency room at the CSSS de Fermont, where they live.
“He was in a confused state, his mouth turned blue, his hands turned a little blue,” said the mother, Stéphanie Dégarie, in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
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The little boy was then examined by the doctor on duty, who diagnosed the consequences of an epileptic seizure.
“I told him it was impossible that he had an epileptic seizure. In fact, I would have had signs of it long before that day,” says the child’s mother.
She then asked the doctor to transfer Olivier to Labrador City Hospital, 21 minutes away, where there is equipment for in-depth examinations.
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“He immediately refused to transfer my son and told me that it couldn’t be quicker,” says Ms. Dégarie.
The doctor then consulted a pediatrician at the CHUL in Quebec, who recommended he “urgently do a scan and consult an intensive care doctor and a pediatrician.”
He requested remotely that emergency laboratory tests be carried out and a transfer by air ambulance to the Quebec CHUL, which the Fermont emergency doctor requested with the priority level “as soon as possible”.
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Doctors and nurses are unable to install a solute. A Quebec pediatrician then recommended the installation of an intraosseous port to administer a solute and an antibiotic.
Olivier suffers from severe cyanosis, blue and black discoloration of the skin, tachycardia, difficulty breathing and a decreased pulse.
“Some time ago I even had a panic attack because I knew that my son was not well,” says Stéphanie Dégarie.
Shortly after midnight, more than six hours after the request, the Aeromedical Evacuation Services team arrived and transported Olivier to Wabush Airport. Upon arrival at CHUL, 9 hours after the transfer request, Olivier was transported to the ICU. He convulses, goes into cardiac arrest and dies.
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According to pathologist Steffen Albrecht, Olivier suffered from small bowel volvulus, a torsion of the bowel. The doctor from Fermont is being sued.
“There was a failure to diagnose and treat the state of shock in which he was due to an intestinal volvulus, which jeopardized his vital prognosis and required urgent intervention,” announces Me Patrick Martin, the lawyer for the -Ménard family.
The ambulance plane’s doctor and a CHUL critical care physician also face criminal charges.
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“Our goal really is to bring justice to our son, okay? Because our son died in a dramatic context. It is also important that something like this never happens again,” concludes Stéphanie Dégarie.
To see the full report, watch the video above.