Hospital sued after toddler swallows lithium battery

MIAMI — A Florida family sued a hospital for malpractice on Wednesday, saying their baby suffered severe burns because it took too long to remove a coin-sized battery that she swallowed.

Parents Cole Parsons and Courtney Thorne said in a lawsuit that Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville should have taken out the lithium battery within two hours, which is recommended by poison control centers. They also sued Dr. David Smith, who they say downplayed the dangers. The battery was removed about five hours after the parents arrived at the hospital, the complaint said.

Nineteen-month-old Ava-Kate Parsons has undergone 20 surgeries since she swallowed the battery March 10. Her mother was at home at the time and saw as her daughter swallowed the coin battery that popped out of a remote control. She rushed to get it out, but it had gone down her throat, and she called 911.

At the hospital, the parents wanted the battery taken out right away because they worried the girl would be exposed to dangerous chemicals. But the father said Smith told them the incident was “no different than a coin in her throat.”

“He seemed pretty relaxed about the whole situation,” Parsons said. “A little while later, we learned there is an electrical burn taking place in her esophagus, and she was rushed to emergency surgery.”

The hospital did not comment on the case, citing privacy laws.

Attorney Eric Ragatz said the amount the parents are suing for is yet to be determined. He said they have spent between $300,000 and $400,000 on medical bills, not counting what they spent traveling to Boston to take Ava-Kate for treatment every two weeks.