A family from Grande Prairie, Alta., has been awarded damages in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over medical care of their infant daughter, who became a quadruple amputee after a bacterial infection was treated too late.
The girl, now 15, is identified only by the initials KB in a pair of court decisions in the case. She was admitted to Grande Prairie’s Queen Elizabeth II Hospital as an 11-month-old baby on Feb. 19, 2011.
KB was treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but three days later, on the morning of Feb. 22, she was in septic shock from an advancing lung infection, and she had to be intubated and airlifted to Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital.
After several weeks at the Stollery, with irreversible damage to her limbs stemming from complications of the infection, doctors had to amputate her right hand, different parts of four fingers on her left hand and both her legs — one above the knee, and one below.
In a decision last month, Court of King’s Bench Justice Avril Inglis awarded damages totalling nearly $16.5 million for KB, taking into account her future care needs due to her permanent disability.
Mother also awarded damages
Included in the costs are the prosthetics she’ll need to keep replacing over the course of her life, as well as money for support workers and various therapies to support her health.
Interest that applies to some of the future costs still has to be calculated.
KB’s mother, identified as DB in the decision, is also awarded nearly $650,000 in the damages decision, reflecting lost income as well as compensation for past care of her daughter.
In an interview with CBC News, she said it’s an outcome that offers validation and hope for her daughter’s future.
“She has shown just such strength and resilience throughout her whole life,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s just that reassurance that she’s going to have the tools that she needs to be successful in life.”
‘Further steps’ needed, rules judge
The trial for the lawsuit was held throughout 2022 and 2023. In Inglis’s decision, she found family physician Dr. Mark Guhle breached his standard of care to KB in the Grande Prairie hospital, ruling that he’s liable for her subsequent injuries.
Guhle was designated as KB’s most responsible doctor before she was moved to Edmonton. Inglis found the doctor had the opportunity to recognize the “serious possibility” of a bacterial infection before it was too late to intervene, and didn’t order the proper treatment at a critical turning point.
“The evidence is clear that KB had signs she was beginning to worsen on Feb. 21 by the time Dr. Guhle attended and ordered further testing,” Inglis said.
The judge found that after receiving blood test results that showed a possible indication of a bacterial infection, “Dr. Guhle should have taken further steps … these steps include starting antibiotics while other follow-up testing was done.”
Inglis’s decision recounts how Guhle recognized an emergency when he assessed KB on Feb. 22, noting she was in respiratory failure. Her mother testified during the trial about “a dramatic moment when Dr. Guhle picked up KB and raced down the hall with her.”
Decision about ‘restoring dignity,’ lawyer says
A subsequent chest X-ray showed an indication of fluid buildup in her chest, and testing came back positive for Group A Streptococcus bacteria.
Two other doctors involved in KB’s care in Grande Prairie were also named in the lawsuit. Inglis concluded that one of them additionally breached his standard of care, but said it wasn’t proven that his failure contributed to the girl’s injuries.
Lawyers representing the physicians, including Guhle, declined to comment. The window for the defendants to appeal the decisions has yet to close.
Stacy Koumarelas, a partner at Toronto-based Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers, was part of the legal team representing KB.
“It’s not just about compensation, but it is about restoring dignity to her. And the costs of her future care are significant,” she said.
KB’s mother said her daughter has grown into a teen “full of spirit and grace” as she continues to live her life.
“In the hospital in Edmonton, I just made a promise to not only myself, but to my family, that if she survives, that we would live that life of gratitude and just be thankful for every day that’s ahead of us,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean that we don’t have challenges or haven’t had hard days, because those are there. They’re there often. But just knowing that the past is what it is and that can’t be changed — we can’t live there.”