Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Sanskriti
A mother from Alabama has filed a lawsuit against the hospital where her 9-month-old daughter died, alleging that the hospital failed to disclose that its computer systems had been damaged by a hack, resulting in reduced treatment and the baby’s death.
Nicko Silar was born on July 17, 2019, the same time when Springhill Medical Centre was being targeted by a ransomware attack. And the failure of electronic devices caused a doctor to be unable to properly monitor the child’s condition during delivery.
The infant died last year after months of critical care at another hospital due to serious brain damage and other issues.
The case was first published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, which was originally filed in Mobile County in 2019 while Nicko was still alive.
Springhill did not divulge the seriousness of the hack publicly or to Kidd, according to the malpractice complaint, which demands an undisclosed sum of money from the hospital and Dr. Katelyn Braswell Parnell, who delivered Nicko. It says that if the lady had understood what was going on, she would have gone to a different and safer facility for labour and delivery.
Denying all the allegations Springhill urged the judge to reject the lawsuit’s most severe claim, that authorities colluded to publicly construct a “false, misleading, and deceptive narrative” about the cyberattack in a plan that put the child’s birth in jeopardy.
Parnell was “fully aware of the inaccessibility of the relevant systems, including those in the labour and delivery unit, and still concluded that (Kidd) could safely deliver her at Springhill,” according to the hospital. According to the hospital, it had no legal need to furnish Kidd with specifics of the hack under Alabama law.
Nicko’s injuries and death were not caused by Parnell or her medical group, Bay Area Physicians for Women. The day before the baby was born, Springhill issued a public statement regarding the incident, claiming that staff “has continued to safely care for our patients and will continue to provide the high quality of service that our patients deserve and expect,” according to WKRG-TV.
