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Superbug Victim's Family To Sue Brooklyn Hospital

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Oct 30, 2007 5:14 pm US/Eastern

Superbug Victim's Family To Sue Brooklyn Hospital

7th Grader Died From MRSA; But Did He Receive Appropriate Treatment?

BROOKLYN (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Aileen Rivera plans to sue a Brooklyn hospital after her 12-year-old son Omar died from the MRSA superbug staph infection.
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The family of the 12-year-old boy who died after catching the infamous "superbug" has slapped a Brooklyn hospital with a multi-million dollar lawsuit. They say doctors failed to properly diagnose the deadly staph infection.

Lawmakers have been demanding answers about the death of Omar Rivera, and now his family is taking legal action. Rivera's family is announced plans Tuesday to sue Kings County Hospital, where they say the middle school student was given Benadryl and sent home just two days before his death.

Did the physicians at King's County Hospital fail to properly diagnose Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, or did they give him appropriate treatment?

Aileen Rivera, the boy's mother, says that three days before her son died, she took him to a clinic on Flatlands Avenue when she found a sore on his back.

Mrs. Rivera says the clinic sent him home with Motrin and a mild antibiotic, but the infection did not clear up. The next day, she took him to Kings County Hospital, where she says a doctor thought the child had an allergic reaction to the Motrin, and gave him the over-the-counter medication Benadryl.

"They did nothing. The only thing they said was it was a reaction to Motrin," Mrs. Rivera said. "They gave him Benadryl, two Benedryl in the emergency room at Kings County."

She claims the Benadryl was inappropriate treatment, and her lawyers say the child's condition should have been aggressively tested.

"This child should never have been released. He should have been worked up. There should have been blood work," said attorney Paul Weitz. "He should have been kept there for tests."

A spokesman for Kings County has said it is closely examining whether it could have done anything more to detect the infection. In the meantime, it's now also facing a $25 million lawsuit from Mrs. Rivera and her attorneys.

"He's my only child, 12-years-old. I don't have anyone else. My only child," Mrs. Rivera said.

Other tri-state cases have been found in New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island.

Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for the latest in this developing story.

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