Suing gave grieving mom a look at the truth

Money was not a motivation for Laurie Sanders to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against her 6-year-old son's doctors and hospital.

But if her case had been limited by a cap on certain damages, as some doctors and lawmakers advocate, she would never have been able to press the issue.

And for Sanders, filing suit was the only way she could get to the bottom of a horrible question: Why did her sweet, robust kindergartner die from some infection that impaired his breathing?

"Basically, no attorney would have taken this case if there had been caps on noneconomic damages," Sanders said, referring to money paid for immeasurable concepts such as pain and suffering, or the loss of family bonds.

Such damages are at the heart of lawsuit restrictions that are gaining attention in Washington as part of the health-care reform debate. Many doctors and lawmakers contend that noneconomic damages should be capped at $250,000 or some other fixed amount to limit "junk lawsuits."

Opponents, including Sanders, 46, of Charlotte, say the caps would keep worthy lawsuits from being pursued.

Sanders settled her case in 2007 and cannot disclose the terms of the agreement with Presbyterian Hospital, two doctors and other caregivers. The hospital issued a statement declining to comment but acknowledged the pain of Sanders' loss.

Still raw with grief -- her son, Christopher, died in 2006, and she had lost her husband to skin cancer five years earlier -- Sanders weeps as she recounts how her normally healthy little boy woke up that March morning and said his throat "felt funny."

She got him to the hospital, where he was admitted and given regular rounds of oxygen and medicine for immediate relief. The source of his problem wasn't fully understood; doctors suspected croup -- a viral infection that is usually mild but can be severe when the airway becomes restricted.

Christopher spent four days in the hospital, vacillating between appearing fine and being hit with desperate, intense gasps for air that were resolved with breathing treatments.

The doctor and nurses began suspecting that Christopher's breathing problems were exacerbated by anxiety, so he was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug.

"I told them, 'No, he's anxious because he can't breathe,' " she said.

He was discharged despite Sanders' reservations.

As soon as they got home, Christopher went into respiratory distress. Sanders dialed 911.

The paramedic revived the youngster during the 20-minute dash back to Presbyterian Hospital, and Christopher seemed to bounce back. But in the emergency department, he deteriorated rapidly.

Sanders saw that her son was motioning to her, so she gave him a hug, and he arched his back and went into respiratory arrest.

"That was the last time I saw my son alive," she sobbed.

Sanders, who now works with other patients to provide support and guidance in malpractice cases, said filing the lawsuit allowed her to get Christopher's medical records interpreted by doctors and specialists hired for the case.

They gave her the answer she dreaded: If his airway had been managed, he would have survived.