Latvia's Health Ministry Appeals Ruling on Compensation for Child's Death at Daugavpils Hospital

The Latvian Ministry of Health has appealed a ruling by the Administrative Regional Court, which upheld a first-instance court decision ordering the Medical Risk Fund to pay €123,792 in compensation to a mother whose 11-month-old daughter died at Daugavpils Regional Hospital in 2021.

According to court materials, the mother noticed that her child may have ingested valerian tablets and immediately called an ambulance. The girl was rushed to the hospital and placed in the intensive care unit. After some time, doctors deemed her condition moderately stable and decided to transfer her to another ward.

During the transfer, the child was disconnected from the monitor that tracked her heart rate and breathing, despite regulations requiring continuous monitoring during transport. The journey to the fifth floor took about 20 minutes. Throughout this time, the child was under the care of a physician's assistant and a nurse but without equipment that would have alerted them to cardiac arrest. Staff believed the child was simply sleeping.

Upon arrival at the children's ward, the duty nurse and doctor found that the girl was not breathing. Medical staff concluded that death occurred during transport or just before. The Health Inspectorate conducted an investigation and found no fault on the part of the doctors, suggesting sudden infant death syndrome as a possible cause.

The mother disagreed and took the case to court. The court ordered a comprehensive forensic examination involving five specialists. The experts categorically rejected the sudden infant death syndrome diagnosis, stating the cause of death was acute heart failure and asystole, the development of which went unnoticed by medical staff.

The court also revealed irregularities in medical documentation—blood pressure readings were recorded at a time when the child was already disconnected from the monitor and being transported. Experts indicated that had the child remained in the intensive care unit on monitors, doctors could have detected the weakening heart activity and potentially saved her.

The first-instance court did not find intentional harm but ruled that by disconnecting the child from the monitor and transporting her without proper supervision, doctors missed a chance to save her life. The court declared the Health Inspectorate and Ministry's decisions to deny compensation unlawful. The Ministry is now appealing this ruling.