Florida Infant’s liver transplant Sparks Lawsuit Over Missed Newborn Bilirubin Test
USA: A Florida family says their infant daughter required a life-saving liver transplant after clinicians allegedly failed to act on an abnormal newborn blood test at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando. The parents, Michael and Allison, contend that an elevated bilirubin result was not flagged by a doctor and an advanced practice registered nurse affiliated with Pediatrics Medical Group of Florida, a lapse they say set off a cascade of preventable injuries.
According to the family, problems surfaced by the two-month checkup when the child was failing to gain weight and appeared jaundiced; the pediatrician then sent them to the emergency department. An attempted Kasai procedure did not succeed and the child returned to hospital care within two weeks, entering a severe decline that included coma and repeated critical episodes the parents describe as technical deaths. She was removed from and later placed back on transplant lists, ultimately receiving a liver transplant at nine months of age.
The transplant did save her life, the parents say, but it did not spare long-term harm. They report the child lost a hand and endured 182 nights in hospital. The family now pursues multiple fronts: a civil suit against Pediatrics Medical Group of Florida and arbitration with Orlando Health, alongside advocacy in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., to require universal direct bilirubin screening for newborns. They point to a statistic they cite that early detection and treatment within 30 days can greatly reduce the need for childhood liver transplantation.
The lawsuit also targets state medical malpractice caps; the parents are calling for those limits to be removed in catastrophic injury cases. Both Pediatrics Medical Group of Florida and Orlando Health declined to comment on pending litigation. The family continues to press for policy change as their daughter approaches her third birthday.
