Arizona 18-Month-Old Found Alive 5 Hours After Hospital Declared Him Dead
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 7
Arizona 18-Month-Old Found Alive 5 Hours After Hospital Declared Him Dead
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 7
Summary
Five hours after Mercy Gilbert Medical Center pronounced an 18-month-old near-drowning victim dead in February, medical examiner staff found him breathing in the hospital’s cold room and he was flown to another hospital.
Police records released recently show two Gilbert officers repeatedly reported possible signs of life before the boy was taken to the morgue area, but staff proceeded; one doctor told an officer, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing.”
The toddler ultimately survived and has been released, though a family fundraising page said he would need extensive therapy after the backyard pool incident.
Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents, citing a strong marijuana odor in the home and open doors that may have allowed the child unsupervised access to the pool; the county attorney is reviewing the case.
Mercy Gilbert said it conducted a thorough review and made changes to strengthen care, while the doctor’s lawyer said the case is more complex medically and factually than reported.