Family Seeks Legal Advice After Blind Toddler Who Almost Died Is Denied ACC Support for Hospital Failure

Intravenous Fluid IV Accident Compensation Corporation ACC Starship Hospital Septo-Optic Dysplasia Leaking IV

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Sep 27, 07:59 pm

The parents of the blind toddler, Lucas, who almost died and may have had difficulty walking after his foot was filled with Intravenous Fluid (IV), which was allegedly left unchecked by hospital staff for seven hours, are seeking legal advice after being denied support from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), per NZ Herald.

The parents, Ginni and Mike, worry their son born with special needs, may have also lost crucial months of development. Lucas' mom, Ginni, said she doesn't know if her son will ever walk again after the hospital committed a huge mistake, adding that she didn't expect ACC to be that heartless.

The Starship Hospital admitted to missing some of the 16-month-old's medical documents amidst an investigation to analyze what went wrong and has now apologized to the family for the failure. The mom emphasized that her son's foot was swollen like a rubber dog's toy, and the IV was continuously leaking into the toddler's foot the whole night. According to Starship's protocol, children's IV lines should generally be checked every hour.

The mother revealed the hospital only rushed in when the IV line was already leaking. Doctors and nurses yelled, "code blue, code blue," and that's when they only started taking things seriously. According to data gathered by the news outlet, 400 to 560 people obtained taxpayer-funded compensation each year due to being harmed by an IV inserted wrongly into the veins or dislodged. ACC accepted 258 treatment injury claims for IV cannulation.

Lucas and his family were severely traumatized

Mike, Lucas' dad, said they were grateful for Starship Hospital, as without them, the toddler wouldn't be alive. The hospital being the toddler's hero made the situation worse and hard to swallow as the hospital is the main reason he is having difficulties, which could have been avoided in the first place. "It's that betrayal of trust."

The family was now speaking out to prevent the situation from happening again and help make the system better. The family has been left severely traumatized by what happened to their 16-month-old child.

Before the incident happened in June, Lucas received weekly occupational therapy provided by the Starship Hospital because the young boy was born with Septo-Optic Dysplasia (SOD). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), SOD is a rare disorder usually characterized by abnormal development of the optic disk, pituitary deficiencies, and often agenesis or the absence of the septum pellucidum.

The rare condition left the toddler with special needs almost completely blind.

Lucas got distressed after the injury and cried himself to sleep

The parents claimed that the IV harm caused further damage to the young boy's development and may have left him with fatal nerve damage in his foot, primarily affecting his ability to walk. Mike added that his son is a special kid who is blind and needs every bit of sensory he can get specifically through his feet, and the staff may have removed all of that.

The parents lodged a treatment injury claim seeking coverage for wound care, rehabilitation, and child support so Ginni could also return to her work. An occupational therapist, sought by the family, said in a report that the 16-month-old toddler experienced a significant decline in functional ability due to the injury and the subsequent extended stay in hospital. The report also mentioned that Lucas was about to start daycare while his mother could return to work, but due to the unfortunate events, neither could do that anymore.

The toddler cried himself to sleep three months after the injury he sustained because he was so distressed. Lucas' condition is rare, affecting 1 in every 100,000 births, with boys and girls affected equally, per NHS.