Mom sues over 'vaccination death'
The health ministry has denied any wrongdoing relating to the death of six-week-old infant at Rehoboth in June 2016, shortly after a routine vaccination at St Mary's Hospital.
In papers filed at the Windhoek High Court, 46-year-old Lynette Rizelda Morkel is demanding N$225 000 in damages, while blaming medical staff for negligence and breaching healthcare and safety steps related to the immunisation of her baby girl.
An autopsy conducted following the child's death said the “underlying cause of death was likely linked to the vaccination event”, while recommending that extensive histological examination and toxicological screenings be conducted.
Morkel claims a nurse administered the vaccine despite her concerns that the baby displayed flu symptoms, and ignored her suggestion that she return with the child once she was healthy.
She claims that the morning after the hospital visit, the baby was crying weakly and eventually “turned blue around the lips and passed away shortly thereafter”.
Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) lawyers acting on behalf of Morkel said the death of the little girl was caused as a result of a number of breaches.
“They acted negligently, resulting in the ultimate death of the deceased minor child [and] failed to exercise due care and skill in the administration of vaccines and medicines, and failed to ensure the health and wellbeing of the deceased minor child,” the court papers claim.
Morkel informed the court she has suffered emotional and psychological shock and trauma, inconvenience and discomfort, for which she is demanding N$200 000 from the health ministry.
She is demanding a further
N$5 000 for funeral expenses and N$20 000 to cover past and future medical expenses in relation to psychological assessment and counselling.
Concerns
An expert witness slated to testify on behalf of Morkel, paediatrician Dr Steffen Bau, said “a concerning feature in this case is, however, that this infant, according to all the available documents was feeding poorly, with additional prematurity and probably inadequate weight gain”.
He added while a mild flu and a low birth weight are reasons to postpone vaccinations, when a caregiver or parent requests a delay after being informed of the risks, this should be cause for a delay.
“Further reasons to delay administration in cases of flu or a common cold would be if the child looks unwell, is feeding poorly and/or is having signs of significant respiratory distress,” Dr Bau said.
He said in such a case, staff are obliged to allow the caregiver to return at a later date.
He said he will elaborate on the precautionary measures a healthcare worker ought to take to determine underlying conditions prior to the administration of vaccines.
Other factors
The health ministry said in its court papers that several other factors played a role in the infant's death, including the baby's state of health at the time of the vaccination.
It said there is insufficient evidence to prove staff negligence or that the cause of death was due to the vaccination.
The ministry further claims that Morkel, when she brought in her baby, was placed on nutritional support due to her own state of health, as she weighed 37kg at the time.
Simasiku Kabanje, the chief forensic medical officer at the Windhoek police mortuary, who is one of three expert witnesses lined up by the ministry to testify, said in his statement the baby was severely underweight, indicating possible malnutrition.
“In my expert opinion, this is a very significant finding.”
Kabanje concluded that in his expert view “there was no concrete evidence to have reached a conclusion of vaccine associated death as cause of death”.
“The conclusion was made based on the history itself, but not supported by the autopsy or the histology findings.”
The health ministry claims further that several other babies were administered doses from the same vaccination batch that day, and no other problems were reported.
It said monthly inspections are conducted on the fridges where the vaccines are stored, and expiry dates are checked for safety.
It said of concern was the infant's diet, which they allege consisted long-life milk and rooibos tea, which were detrimental to the baby's health.
JANA-MARI SMITH
In papers filed at the Windhoek High Court, 46-year-old Lynette Rizelda Morkel is demanding N$225 000 in damages, while blaming medical staff for negligence and breaching healthcare and safety steps related to the immunisation of her baby girl.
An autopsy conducted following the child's death said the “underlying cause of death was likely linked to the vaccination event”, while recommending that extensive histological examination and toxicological screenings be conducted.
Morkel claims a nurse administered the vaccine despite her concerns that the baby displayed flu symptoms, and ignored her suggestion that she return with the child once she was healthy.
She claims that the morning after the hospital visit, the baby was crying weakly and eventually “turned blue around the lips and passed away shortly thereafter”.
Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) lawyers acting on behalf of Morkel said the death of the little girl was caused as a result of a number of breaches.
“They acted negligently, resulting in the ultimate death of the deceased minor child [and] failed to exercise due care and skill in the administration of vaccines and medicines, and failed to ensure the health and wellbeing of the deceased minor child,” the court papers claim.
Morkel informed the court she has suffered emotional and psychological shock and trauma, inconvenience and discomfort, for which she is demanding N$200 000 from the health ministry.
She is demanding a further
N$5 000 for funeral expenses and N$20 000 to cover past and future medical expenses in relation to psychological assessment and counselling.
Concerns
An expert witness slated to testify on behalf of Morkel, paediatrician Dr Steffen Bau, said “a concerning feature in this case is, however, that this infant, according to all the available documents was feeding poorly, with additional prematurity and probably inadequate weight gain”.
He added while a mild flu and a low birth weight are reasons to postpone vaccinations, when a caregiver or parent requests a delay after being informed of the risks, this should be cause for a delay.
“Further reasons to delay administration in cases of flu or a common cold would be if the child looks unwell, is feeding poorly and/or is having signs of significant respiratory distress,” Dr Bau said.
He said in such a case, staff are obliged to allow the caregiver to return at a later date.
He said he will elaborate on the precautionary measures a healthcare worker ought to take to determine underlying conditions prior to the administration of vaccines.
Other factors
The health ministry said in its court papers that several other factors played a role in the infant's death, including the baby's state of health at the time of the vaccination.
It said there is insufficient evidence to prove staff negligence or that the cause of death was due to the vaccination.
The ministry further claims that Morkel, when she brought in her baby, was placed on nutritional support due to her own state of health, as she weighed 37kg at the time.
Simasiku Kabanje, the chief forensic medical officer at the Windhoek police mortuary, who is one of three expert witnesses lined up by the ministry to testify, said in his statement the baby was severely underweight, indicating possible malnutrition.
“In my expert opinion, this is a very significant finding.”
Kabanje concluded that in his expert view “there was no concrete evidence to have reached a conclusion of vaccine associated death as cause of death”.
“The conclusion was made based on the history itself, but not supported by the autopsy or the histology findings.”
The health ministry claims further that several other babies were administered doses from the same vaccination batch that day, and no other problems were reported.
It said monthly inspections are conducted on the fridges where the vaccines are stored, and expiry dates are checked for safety.
It said of concern was the infant's diet, which they allege consisted long-life milk and rooibos tea, which were detrimental to the baby's health.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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