Infant Dies at the Hands of Negligent Caregiver
A four month old baby died in Fort Myers as a result of negligent care from an Arcadia caregiver after receiving deadly attempts at lifesaving. The child’s mother, Martha Garcia, a citrus migrant worker, only received the news of her baby’s condition after the child was already unconscious and was in the hands of emergency personnel.
A Deadly Accident
The incident took place on January 26 while the child, Kendra Pardo, was under the care of Maura Martinez in Arcadia. Ms. Martinez was caring for the infant while her mother was away at work. After feeding Kendra, Ms. Martinez placed the baby in her car seat, unrestrained and unattended, on a bed for approximately forty-five minutes. When she returned to finally check on the child, Kendra was unconscious. Ms. Martinez then immediately called 911.
About one hour after giving Kendra to her caregiver, Ms. Garcia received a phone call from her caregiver, telling her that her child was not breathing. Once emergency personnel arrived on the scene they were able to successfully resuscitate the baby at DeSoto Memorial Hospital. The child was then airlifted from there to St. Petersburg after another two hours. Unfortunately, she had suffered extreme brain damage as a result of the incident and had to be placed on a ventilator.
Hours later, after discussing the matter with medical counsel, Ms. Garcia decided to disconnect her daughter’s life support machines. She was informed that in addition to her daughter suffering severe brain injury from the lack of oxygen, Kendra also suffered a punctured lung, fractured ribs, and internal bleeding from CPR that was administered improperly before emergency personnel arrived. “I can’t believe this is happening to me, I can’t believe my baby died this way,” said Garcia. “This is a tragedy and I have no words to describe how I feel. I thought my daughter was safer with this person than in a daycare.”
Wrongful Death Claims
Florida statutes, Sections 768.16 – 768.26 are known as the “Florida Wrongful Death Act.” The purpose of this act is to “shift the losses resulting when wrongful death occurs from the survivors of the decedent to the wrongdoer.” Damages for a wrongful death claim can include future loss of support and services from the date of death and reduced to present value, mental pain and suffering, medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent’s injury or death, and more to try and begin to repair the loss of your loved one.
Contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer
Dealing with the death of a loved one is always difficult, but it can seem insurmountable when a child dies because of the negligent acts of another person. If you or someone that you know has suffered through a similar ordeal in Orlando, Fort Myers, Tampa, Jacksonville, or the West Palm Beach area, let the experienced wrongful death lawyers at The Pendas Law Firm help. Call the office or contact us today for a free and private review of your case.
