In 2020, more than 4 million U.S. children suffered from asthma, with 204 children dying from asthma attacks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2019, asthma accounted for more than 790,000 emergency department visits by children under age 18, making it one of the top causes for emergency department visits by children. Proper treatment of pediatric asthma by hospital emergency departments can make the difference between life and death, and as borne out by statistics, deaths are exceedingly rare and preventable. When they occur, the case should be examined as a potential medical malpractice claim.

Theories of liability when a child dies after presenting to the emergency department for an acute asthma exacerbation include failure to provide appropriate therapies, failure to monitor/premature discharge from the emergency department, and failure to provide escalating therapies after first-line therapies have failed. Parents who watched their child endure a fatal asthma attack may have a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress.

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