Death of 12-Year-Old Omar Rivera Exposes Dangers of Misdiagnosing MRSA
Posted on October 29, 2007
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Brooklyn middle school student Omar Rivera visited the emergency room at Kings County Hospital two days before his death and was sent home with the allergy medication Benadryl. The 12-year-old boy died on October 14, 2007 and the cause of death was later found to be the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
Omar Rivera was treated for skin lesions at Kings County Hospital after his mother was dissatisfied with the treatment he received at a local clinic, The NY Post reported. The Hospital released the child after giving him Benadryl to treat allergies. A Kings County Hospital spokesperson said Omar did not exhibit symptoms of MRSA when he visited the Hospital, but the facility will be reviewing what other measures could have been taken to accurately diagnose the virulent staph infection when the Riveras visited the ER.
Omar Rivera’s mother has retained the services of attorney Paul Weitz. Weitz believes the Hospital missed signs of the MRSA infection because Omar was not examined or evaluated carefully enough. The boy’s bother is considering filing a lawsuit against Kings County Hospital and the unnamed clinic that first treated Omar Rivera for his lesions.
Omar Rivera was the fourth American child to die from a MRSA-related illness during October. Shae Kiernan, 11, of Mississippi, Ashton Bonds, 17, of Virginia, and Catherine Bentley, 5, of New Hampshire also succumbed to MRSA infections this month. State and federal legislation has been proposed to address the increase in potentially lethal MRSA.
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