16 Jan 2006

American Samoa legislature to probe out ot court hospital settlement

3:18 pm on 16 January 2006

A bill appropriating 80,000 US dollars to pay an out of court settlement of a malpractice claim filed against the LBJ Hospital and the American Samoa Government is now being reviewed by the legislature.

The suit was filed by the parents of a baby girl who died shortly after birth at the hospital.

The girl's parents alleged in their 3.7 million suit that their daughter was born healthy on July the 10th 2003 but gross negligence by nursery staff caused her death.

According to their complaint, the child was fed by one of the LBJ nursery staff and then left unattended.

A few hours later, she was found cold and unresponsive in her cot.

She was placed under critical care but did not recover.

On July 24th 2003 she was declared dead.

Another appropriation bill now before the Fono seeks 140,000 dollars to pay the settlement of another malpractice suit against the hospital.