Four year old Rebecca Riley died in 2007 from an overdose of psychiatric drugs prescribed by her psychiatrist. Her parents are in jail for her murder. The medical malpractice claim her estate filed settled for $2.5 million, and the money will be dispursed among her siblings. What happened to young Rebecca Riley?
ADHD and Bi-Polar Disorder in a Four Year Old?
Rebecca Riley was seeing Dr. Kayoko Kifuji of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts to be treated for Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder, as well as Bi-Polar Disorder, at age four. Her siblings, 11 and 6, were being seen by the same doctor and being treated for the same diseases. While ADHD is a common diagnosis in rambunxious children, Bi-Polar Disorder is uncommonly diagnosed before the age of 25. A red flag should have gone up immediately when 3 children in the same family under the age of 15 were being treated with serious mood altering drugs for illnesses they very well may not have had.
During litigation, Dr. Kifuji testified (in return for immunity from prosecution) that she had been fooled by the children’s parents, Carolyn and Michael Riley, who lied about symptoms and mental conditions in order to collect federal disability checks for their offsprings’ alleged behavioral and mental disorders. Many questioned why, after indications that the Rileys could be harming their children, Dr. Kifuji didn’t do more to protect the youngsters.
Carolyn and Michael Riley were tried and convicted last year in seperate trials for murdering their daughter by way off reckless dispensing of prescription drugs.
Tufts Settles for $2.5 Million
Lawyers for Rebecca’s estate decided to settle for Kifuji’s insurance company’s max of $2.5 million to spare the surviving Riley children the drawn out and painful process of a trial. The money will be split up amongst the two children, who have lost their sister, and whose parents are now in jail. Part of the settlement also required Tufts to set up educational and outreach programs for families with children suffering from mental illnesses.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
It’s hard to say who was more negligent regarding the death of young Rebecca Riley. While her parents certainly acted with extreme depravity, Dr. Kufuji, equipped with years of medical education and training, should have been able to spot lies and correctly diagnose the Riley children. Had she acted more pro-actively, perhaps this horrible tragedy never would have taken place.
If you or a loved one have been affected by the actions of a negligent doctor or medical provider, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Don’t let careless medicine go unpunished.
The Mininno Law Office team can earn you the compensation you need and deserve.
Olivia Cull underwent surgery as a baby that left one side of her heart smaller than the other. She lived her life this way, until she was a senior in high school. Doctors wanted to install a catheter in her heart to prep for the final surgery that would correct the small side of her heart. She was nervous, but her mother reassured her that the catheterization procedure would only take a few hours, and that she had done it many times before. Doctors told the Culls Olivia would be home before dinner. 
In Pennsylvania, late-term abortions, or abortions after 24 weeks, are illegal. However, Dr. Gosnell, with no certification in obstetrics or gynecology, was performing them out of his office. These late-term abortions often resulted in the birth of living fetuses. It is alleged that Dr. Gosnell and his staff would then kill these fetuses by “plunging scissors into their spinal cords.” (Weisenberg, Brin Wall Street Journal 1/20) 
The business community is thrilled by the bill the Senate passed this week. Of course they are; the new measures make it harder to get sued! Patient advocates, however, view the bill as a shield for medical providers who injure or abuse in nursing homes, or who practice careless, dangerous, and sub-standard medicine.
Several hospitals in the Netherlands use a checklist called SURPASS to assure that all the proper steps have been taken before a patient goes under the knife. Steps on the list include the confirmation of vital aspects of surgery such as the operating schedule, equipment availability, and surgical site. De Vries and his team found that of all of the medical errors that occured between 2004 and 2005, 29% of them could be attributed to at least one of the steps on the checklist. Additionally, 4 of the 10 deaths caused by medical malpractice could be linked back to the checklist.
Lanette Gervato was 35 years old when she was suffering from, along with unexplained headaches, a multitude of symptoms. She visited the University of Florida’s Shands Teaching Hospital for treatment. After testing, it was determined that Gervato was suffering from a non-bleeding aneurysm in her brain. A Shands neurosurgeon would perform a procedure in which coils would be inserted into the aneurysm.
Malyia’s condition persistently worsened during the near 5 hours that she and her parents waited to be seen by a doctor. Finally, Ryan Jeffers bypassed the nurses station and pushed through the doors behind them. He approached a different nurse and asked her
#2: Avoid High Traffic Periods. It seems that because patients try to avoid spending their whole weekend in the ER, Monday is the busiest emergency room day. If you start noticing symptoms on Saturday, don’t wait until Monday to see a doctor. The delay could end up causing much harm.
Many argue that making this information available is unfair to medical providers, but in actuality, it’s keeping this information from unsuspecting patients that is unfair. Choosing a doctor, in some cases, can be a life and death situation. It is more fair to leave up to the patient’s discretion whether or not they will let that doctor provide them treatment, having already been informed about any malpractice or legal trouble that doctor has been in. 
Melissa Halladay had been a patient of Women’s Health Associates since 1995, and Dr. Lucas was her primary caregiver throughout her 2009 pregnancy. In her third trimester, Melissa was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which was monitored and controlled with insulin.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield caused a significant decrease in MMR vaccinations since the publishing of his study in 1998 that claimed that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccination was, in fact, causing “regressive autism“. Regressive autism is a form of the disorder that starts to develop after a child has displayed no symptoms, and has led, up until that point, a “normal” life.