Orange City, Iowa — A trial date over 18 months away has been scheduled in a case in which the Orange City Area Health System, Orange City Area Health Foundation, and some of its providers are named as defendants, claiming they were at fault in a child’s death.
The suit was filed this past fall in Sioux County District Court by the estate of Shawn Cook. It says Cook was seen at the Orange City Medical Clinic for his one-year well-child checkup, during which time the child’s mother expressed concern about persistent wheezing that had been going on for about six days. The provider believed the issue to be an upper respiratory infection. They were sent home with a steroid and were told to come back in “a couple of weeks.” It says they did return in that time frame and only a slight improvement had been noted. An inhaler was prescribed. The suit says that almost a month later, Cook was seen at Floyd Valley Hospital (in Le Mars) for worsening wheezing. A chest x-ray was done there, which revealed a blockage from a foreign object. The suit alleges he was sent to Sanford Sioux Falls, where removal of the metal bracket that had been in his throat was successful, but subsequent related complications resulted in his death.
The suit says the facility and its providers were negligent because they failed to properly respond to the signs and symptoms of a foreign object, among other actions. They say that in failing to properly diagnose what was wrong, they caused Cook’s death.
The estate of Cook has requested a jury trial, which has now been set for October 19th, 2021.
