Toddler Loses Both Feet and a Hand After 5-Hour ER Wait at Sacramento Methodist Hospital; Family Recovers $10 Million

In November 2010, a Sacramento couple brought their two-year-old daughter to Methodist Hospital after she developed a fever, skin discoloration, and rapid weakness. The family was directed to the waiting room. Despite repeated pleas to staff, the child received no physician evaluation for five hours. By the time a doctor saw her, Streptococcal bacteria had invaded her bloodstream and triggered septic shock.

When bacteria enter the bloodstream in that concentration, the body's clotting response restricts blood flow to the extremities. Tissue dies. The girl was transferred to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, where surgeons amputated both of her feet, her left hand, and the fingers of her right hand. She was two years old.

Sacramento attorney Moseley Collins filed suit against Methodist Hospital, its parent company Catholic Healthcare West, and the Emergency Physicians Medical Group of Sacramento. The complaint alleged that hospital staff ignored the family's repeated requests for evaluation and that a timely physician assessment would have identified the Streptococcal infection in time to treat it and prevent amputation.

The case settled in October 2011 for $10 million total: $9 million from Methodist Hospital and $1 million from the Emergency Physicians Medical Group. The settlement structure placed the bulk of the funds into a trust for the child's immediate care needs and established an annuity paying $16,932 per month beginning when she turns 18, with payments set to nearly double by age 30. Because California caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000, the structure of the economic and future-care damages was central to achieving that result.

The recovery ranked among the largest medical malpractice settlements in California at the time of resolution. The family signed a non-disclosure agreement and Moseley Collins confirmed the settlement terms. Following the case, Methodist Hospital implemented changes to its emergency department procedures.