A lawsuit got dismissed after a settlement between the Atkins family and the Beebe Healthcare was reached. The family accepted the monetary compensation for the death of their 14-year-old daughter who died inside the hospital bathroom after being unable to breathe.
Christina Atkins, 14, of Milton, Del. died locked inside the bathroom of Beebe Medical Center in 2011. She was unable to breathe while hospital staff members were searching for keysw which they found after 10 minute. Unfortunately, the girl was already unresponsive by the time they unlocked the door.
Bonnie, Christina's mother, rushed her daughter to the hospital due to urinary tract infection complications. The girl went to the bathroom to get urine samples then experienced breathing problems while inside. Bonnie alerted the nurses to open the door when she heard her daughter gasping for air but it took them 10 minutes to get the master key and open the door.
"I could hear the sounds of my daughter gasping for air," Bonnie Atkins said in testimony in the state House of Representative.
"I watched staff stick pens, paper clips and pins in an effort to unlock that door. ... It would be more than 10 minutes later that security was finally able to locate a key to free my daughter. I never again heard her speak," she added.
Christina was transferred to another hospital but died two days. Beebe acknowledged the lawsuit which was filed in September 2012 and had been negotiating with the family since then for settlement.
James P. Hall, the attorney representing the family, confirmed to USA Today that his clients accepted the monetary compensation offered by Beebe. However, the settlement amount wasn't disclosed. He also added that the family is also requesting the lawmakers to pass a bill regarding key access to bathroom doors to prevent the incident from happening to other patients.
