Doctor’s awful mistake led to five days of agony, amputation and eventual death for promising young high school graduate, 18, $100m lawsuit alleges
The heartbroken family of a promising high school graduate who died in agony after receiving stitches for an arm injury is suing the surgeon they claim made a fatal mistake.
18-year-old Ethan Cantrell passed away on August 20, 2024, five days after receiving treatment for an injury to his arm caused when a branch fell on him while chopping wood.
The high school football star was first treated at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis in western Oregon, where a surgeon closed the wound.
However, according to the $100 million lawsuit filed by his family, it was claimed that the doctor did not remove the pine needles and moss stuck in the incision.
The legal filing alleged that medics also failed to conduct CT scans of his wound, which allegedly could have shown lethal residue inside him, and failed to administer the full range of antibiotics that could have saved his life.
Cantrell suffered excruciating pain for five days; This included a severe fever caused by rapidly spreading bacteria that caused his arm to double in size as it swelled.
Surgeons at a second hospital tried to save him by amputating his limb at his shoulder, but he died after five days of pain, according to the lawsuit. seen by Oregon Live.
“This is just a sad, sad incident,” Brent Barton, an attorney representing Cantrell’s estate, told the press.
The heartbroken family of a promising high school graduate who died in agony after undergoing simple surgery for an arm injury has filed a lawsuit against the doctor, who they claim made a fatal mistake. Ethan Cantrell, 18, passed away on August 20, 2024
18-year-old Ethan Cantrell passed away on August 20, 2024, five days after receiving treatment for an injury to his arm caused when a branch fell on him while chopping wood. Ethan is upstairs with his mother
The family’s lawsuit targets the Corvallis hospital, two doctors and the professional group that employs them, Mary’s Peak Emergency Physicians. The Daily Mail has reached out to the hospital for comment.
“We sympathize with everyone affected by this loss,” Tyler Jacobsen, vice president and chief legal officer of Samaritan Health Services, said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
‘We take all concerns regarding patient care seriously and will respond through the appropriate legal process.’
Cantrell is a recent graduate of Alsea High School, located in a rural western Oregon community about 50 miles outside of Eugene.
Her heartbroken mother said she had just gotten engaged to her high school sweetheart and was known for playing basketball and powerlifting, as well as being the star of her school’s football team.
According to his obituary, Cantrell was looking forward to starting a career in the logging industry, following in the footsteps of the previous four generations in his family.
He was chopping wood in the Alsea countryside on the morning of August 15, 2024, when the horror began. Cantrell fell from a log and pierced his arm on a branch.
He first sought medical care at the emergency room of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, about 40 minutes away.
According to the lawsuit, Cantrell suffered excruciating pain for five days; This included a severe fever caused by rapidly spreading bacteria that caused his arm to double in size as it swelled.
Cantrell was a football star and recent graduate of Alsea High School in rural western Oregon. Up on the football field with his mother
According to his obituary, Cantrell was looking forward to starting a career in the logging industry, following in the footsteps of the previous four generations in his family.
His family’s lawsuit states that he was first seen by a doctor there after waiting for about an hour.
The doctor diagnosed his wound as a laceration, washed the wound with salt water, then stitched it up and sent Cantrell home with antibiotics upon complaint.
The petition states, “As a general rule, laceration wounds are closed after they are cleaned.”
‘Deeper puncture wounds are left open or only loosely closed to allow drainage.
‘Tightly closing a deep wound increases the risk of infection, especially if it contains foreign material.’
Hours later, Cantrell began suffering with a 102.5-degree fever and a painfully swollen arm, his family said.
Her mother called the hospital to report the symptoms, but a nurse told them it was probably Covid-19 and not to worry, she said in the lawsuit.
The nurse checked his medical records but did not consult a doctor, according to the complaint.
After testing negative for Covid-19, Cantrell returned to the hospital the next day, August 17.
Ethan’s heartbroken mother said he had just gotten engaged to his high school sweetheart and was the star of the football team at his school, as well as being known for playing basketball and powerlifting. Up on the football field with his family
Another doctor opened his wound to look and found ’12 pieces of organic plant matter, including twigs, pine needles and moss,’ according to the lawsuit.
They tested cultures from the wound and showed that the wound was infected with bacteria.
Cantrell’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he was airlifted to Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
Staff at that hospital ‘immediately realized Ethan’s condition was life-threatening,’ according to the lawsuit.
Surgeons tried unsuccessfully to save Cantrell’s life by performing several surgeries on his arm, including eventually amputating his shoulder.
When he died, his heartbroken relatives and fiancée were with him.
They are seeking $25 million in economic losses for medical expenses and loss of future income, and $75 million for pain and suffering.
