Pennsylvania Boy Left Severely Brain-Injured after Tonsillectomy Receives $6.2 Million Settlement

By Mary Mitchell

Published on December 04, 2006

Jahmir experienced respiratory failure during the elective tonsillectomy, and according to court documents, the Sacred Heart doctors failed to check his medical history before operating — records which described his severe obstructive sleep apnea, for which he had been studied at the same hospital three months earlier. In the operating room, anesthesia was administered, and Jahmir soon suffered from breathing difficulties and respiratory failure.

The case settled out of court last week, with Sacred Heart agreeing to pay $6.2 million to Jahmir's family, and to provide at least two on-call anesthesiologists for pediatric emergency cases, educate its pediatric staff annually about emergency situations, and find full-time staff for its anesthesia department. Jahmir's attorney, Thomas Kline of Philadelphia, noted that Jahmir will need around-the-clock nursing care for the rest of his life.

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