Family Sues Australian Medical Center for 5 Million

By Brittany Golledge

Published on August 09, 2005

The family alleges that the young man, Ashley Shepherd, now 19 years old, suffered permanent brain injury following his birth in October of 1985. The lawsuit claims that the young man suffered from hypoglycemia as an infant, a condition left untreated by hospital staff. Reports indicate that Ashley exhibited several signs of distress following birth, including seizures and convulsions, both classic signs of a hypoglycemic reaction.

The lawsuit is based on the family's claim that the Medical Center was negligent in failing to diagnose or even consider hypoglycemia in their son following his birth. When Ashley was later transferred to a Children's Hospital, it was with instructions to administer a "sweat test at some future date." The family alleges that had Ashley been adequately treated for hypoglycemia, he would be living a normal life now, at age 19.

The family is expected to receive as much as five million, which would be comparable to a similar case that resulted in a 5.7 million payout.

Representatives of the Western District Health Services had no comment, claiming insufficient knowledge of the incident, which occurred about 20 years ago.

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