Failure to Diagnose Leads to Child’s Death and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

6-year-old Roberto Carlos Llanas, Jr. is dead because an emergency room physician and hospital staff failed to properly diagnosis his condition, according to a medical malpractice lawsuit filed recently. According to a report in the local Business Journal, “The medical malpractice suit, filed Monday in Dallas County Court, alleges that Children’s Medical, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Dr. Abbie Leigh Smith were negligent and failed to diagnose Roberto Carlos Llanas Jr.’s condition in a timely manner, failed to order appropriate testing, and misdiagnosed his condition, leading to Llanas’ death.” Roberto Llanas Jr. was injured on May 8th when he ran into a pole and fell to the concrete at a playground. He was taken to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with constipation, given pain medication, and several tests were ordered including complete blood count, liver function tests and abdominal X-ray. Four hours after his discharge, he died. An autopsy found an abrasion on the left lateral chest wall, a lacerated left kidney with hemorrhage, intestinal hemorrhage and injury to his pancreas, stomach, right kidney and abdomen, according to the lawsuit.