31 Oct 2003

American Samoa hospital faces lawsuits

4:30 pm on 31 October 2003

The LBJ hospital in American Samoa is facing two lawsuits for a total of 5.7 million US dollars after the death of two small girls at the hospital.

The suit alleges battery, malpractice, fraud and failure to provide or enforce adequate care.

In one case, the mother of a three-year-old says her daughter was refused to be admitted until a private clinic referred her to the LBJ hospital.

She died shortly afterwards.

In a second case, the parents allege that doctors performed surgery on their three-month old baby without their consent which contributed to the infant's death.