The parents of a 13-year-old Oregon girl have filed a $17 million lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University, contending that their daughter’s heart wouldn’t restart after surgical staff at the Portland hospital mistakenly installed a heart valve upside down.
Steven and Lori Stokes say their daughter endured a harrowing 18 days hooked up to heart-pumping and blood-oxygenation machines before doctors in Seattle discovered the error.
In the days leading up to that discovery, the Stokeses’ lawsuit says OHSU told them their daughter’s heart was malfunctioning because of the “shock” of surgery. According to the suit, a palliative care team had begun talking to the family about “end-of-life decision making” and asked whether they wanted to donate their daughter’s organs to others…