Health Service to pay €273K after two-year-old's amputation
The Canary Islands High Court (TSJC) has condemned the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) to pay €273,157 in compensation to the family of a two-year-old girl from Tenerife.
She underwent a double leg amputation after receiving inadequate medical treatment for a serious infection.
In March 2022, the toddler was admitted to emergency services due to complications from a bacterial infection. A month later, she was transferred to a hospital in Madrid, where both legs were amputated at the ankle due to necrosis.
Necrosis is what happens when parts of the body, such as skin, muscles, or organs, don’t get enough blood flow or oxygen.
Medical experts and the Canary Islands Consultative Council concluded that treatment with a specific antibiotic, effective in approximately 50% of such infections, was not administered in the critical days following admission, representing a clear “loss of opportunity”
Independent reports provided by the family placed the likelihood of recovery at nearly 99% had the correct medication been given.
Although the parents had initially requested €546,314 in compensation, the TSJC awarded just over €273,000, with one judge disagreeing and saying the family should receive the full amount. The SCS had previously proposed €151,233 as an alternative figure.
The court criticised the health centre for failing to record essential clinical data, such as oxygen saturation, temperature, and heart rate, and for not providing paediatric expertise at the point of care. One judge called for disciplinary proceedings against the staff involved, arguing that any costs arising from gross negligence should be borne by individual employees rather than public funds.
The young patient will now require surgeries every 12 to 15 months to adapt prosthetic limbs as she grows, in addition to long-term rehabilitation and psychological support.
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