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Miami Children’s Hospital Among Those Named in Medical Malpractice Suit
- Interference with Parental Rights -

Palm Beach Gardens, FL – Attorneys Sean C. Domnick and Harry A. Shevin, of the law firm of Domnick & Shevin, PL have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Brian and Stacy Boice, personal representatives of the Estate of Brody Boice, against Variety Children’s Hospital, Miami Children’s Hospital, Neuro Network Partners, Inc. and Michael Duchowny, MD for medical malpractice. Other counts filed include negligence, tortuous interference with parental rights and wrongful death.

Brian and Stacy Boice welcomed their first child, Brody, born on November 5, 2005, in Volusia County. Shortly after birth it was discovered that Brody had a seizure disorder. After a routine 90-day check up, Brody’s doctor, Dr. Duchowny, head of the epilepsy department at Miami Children’s Hospital, recommended that he try a new drug treatment.

Brody went forward with the recommended treatment and was abruptly removed from his current medications and placed on a new one, Depokate. Within hours Brody began to suffer multiple seizures. The seizures continued to worsen and Brody was left non-responsive and being kept alive by artificial means. “The family was told that Brody would not be able to have quality of life nor would he ever recover,” said family attorney Sean C. Domnick. “The Boice’s were devastated. They were advised by medical staff to end Brody’s suffering by withholding artificial nutrition and hydration.” According to testimony, Duchowny told them Brody only would live for 2-3 months even on artificial nutrition and hydration.

The family attended a hospital Bioethics Committee meeting on October 16, 2007, where all participants agreed to the condition and recommended treatment, including the family. That same day, Brody’s doctor wrote the order to stop nutrition and hydration and provide hospice-palliative end of life support. Brody could pass with the aid and care of medical professionals and the family could get counseling and support needed in dealing with the loss of a child.

After the order was initiated, several nurses at Miami Children’s Hospital, due to personal ethics and religious objections, objected to the Bioethics Committee’s order. According to testimony, the nurses threatened to go to the press. In response, the testimony revealed that the hospital told Dr. Duchowny to reverse his order. He did so, telling the family that if they fought the hospital that they would lose custody of their child, further testimony revealed.

“The family refused the feeding and requested a discharge,” said Domnick. “The family felt their son was in a Terri Schiavo situation. The Boice’s would have to choose between end-of-life comfort care in seclusion or deal with the obvious efforts by the  hospital to ignore the decision reached by the doctors, the ethics committee and the family as to what was in Brody’s best interests.

Hours later the request for release was granted but the hospital filed reports to the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) to track Brody and his family down for abuse. Evidence in the case indicates that DCF was lied to when they were told that Brody was taken out of the hospital against medical advice when, in truth, he had been properly discharged.

Brody was with his family in hiding when he passed away on November 1, 2007.

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Domnick & Shevin, PL, a Palm Beach Gardens Litigation Firm, focuses on Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Catastrophic Injury, Product Liability, and Mass Torts. The firm is headquartered at 5100 PGA Boulevard, Suite 317 and may be contacted at (561) 630-5363. Additional information about Domnick & Shevin, PL may be obtained from the firm’s website at www.acallforjustice.com.