ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A 12-year-old girl is on the road to recovery after an accident landed her in the emergency room. Her family said she had to wait 10 hours before getting surgery.
The family is filing a lawsuit against the hospital, claiming she should have been helped sooner. The family claimed it all started on October 14. “I get a call from the school, saying there was an incident, and rescue was on the way, and that’s all they told me, so I rushed to the school,” said Stephanie Sedillo.
Sedillo said her daughter Meiah fell and hurt her leg while she was at school. Meiah was rushed to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque. “I was freaking out like a lot because I couldn’t really like move my leg, and I was scared that it was broken, which it was,” explained Meiah Tafoya.
Sedillo said her daughter got triage and an x-ray on her left leg but then waited 10 hours before being seen again. Sedillo said she repeatedly told medical staff Meiah’s leg was getting cold but was told to wait. That’s when things took a turn for the worst. “The guy finally said that, he started panicking because he realized that her leg was cold, and she was screaming so crazy that, he’s like, ‘we gotta get her transported to UNM,'” recalled Sedillo.
A pediatric surgeon at UNMH determined Meiah’s left leg would have to be amputated. Meiah had to get more than four surgeries and spend more than three months in the hospital. “It’s been hell; it’s been hard,” says Sedillo.
Sedillo argues Meiah wouldn’t have had to amputate her leg had she been seen at Presbyterian sooner. The family is now suing Presbyterian Hospital, alleging medical malpractice, saying they acted “unreasonably” and did not give “timely” treatment.
“We’re gonna find out exactly why this happened and hopefully prevent something like this from happening to anyone else ever again,” said Attorney Todd Bullion, who represents the Sedillo family along with Attorney Jason Bowles.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to try and pay for the medical expenses. Despite the incident, Meiah said she tries to focus on the positives in her life. “It’s a little easy, a little hard. I’m going to get through it though,” said Meiah Tafoya.
KRQE did reach out to Presbyterian Hospital, but it was too late for the hospital to get back to us before the newscast aired. According to court documents, the hospital said it does not have enough information about the allegations. It states “all allegations of the complaint” are “not expressly admitted or denied.”