Family Of Brooklyn Student Prepares To Sue City After MRSA Death
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The mother of a Brooklyn middle school student who died from the deadly staph "superbug" MRSA spoke out for the first time Tuesday morning.
Lawyers for Aileen Rivera said Rivera plans to sue the city for $25 million after she says Kings County Hospital misdiagnosed her 12-year-old son Omar.
Rivera died just one day after seeking treatment at the facility for a skin lesion, which is a symptom of the infection.
"The doctor don't tell me nothing. In the emergency room, they don't do nothing," said Rivera. "The only thing they say was he got reaction from the Motrin and they gave me some Benadryl. He took two Benadryl in the emergency room in King's County. The doctor told me my son is okay. That's all they told me. They don't do nothing else."
Rivera says Omar was a healthy kid until around October 10th, when he complained of a painful bump on his buttocks. She first took him to her family doctor who prescribed the antibiotic amoxicillin for Omar. When that didn't work, she took him to Kings County.
Her lawyers say the hospital didn't follow proper protocol.
"They're supposed to look at the symptoms and decide what disease or what is the cause of those symptoms. And you get a list, that's the differential diagnosis," said Rivera's attorney, Derek Sells. "Then what the doctors are supposed to go through that list and be able to what's called 'rule out' certain diagnosis that they've made through various tests that were conducted. In this case, Omar was not given those tests."
Lawyers say the hospital should have at least done blood work.
Kings County Hospital released a statement saying, "[Omar] presented with non-MRSA related conditions and was treated. We will conduct a full review of the patient's treatment and examine whether anything more could have been done..."
Rivera says she does not know how her son could have contracted the bacteria.
"He don't go to no team," she said. "He don't play no basketball in no school. He don't take no shower in no school. I know my child. He was a nice healthy kid. My son was sick only three days. Thursday to Sunday, that's it."
While the city Department of Health says the likely cause of Omar Rivera's death is the MRSA bacteria, the medical examiner has not yet completed the official report.
Aileen Rivera also lashed out at the media for reporting that her son died of MRSA, which she says tarnishes his name.
Meanwhile, two other cases of the potentially deadly superbug have been identified.
School officials at P.S. 48 in Manhattan met Tuesday to discuss the situation. The school was disinfected and the infected student - who has not been identified - was treated and is back in class.
An informational meeting was also held Tuesday evening for parents of students at P.S. 3, after parents received a letter saying a student at the Brooklyn school had contracted MRSA.
