Pneumonia Killed Toddler Misdiagnosed as Cold at Andorra Hospital
Autopsy confirms 15-month-old girl died from pneumonia after two emergency visits where severe respiratory infection was dismissed as a common cold,.
Key Points
- Autopsy reveals pneumonia caused death of 15-month-old seen twice at Andorra hospital ER on Nov 29.
- Parents filed police complaint alleging negligence; child assessed as having common cold despite severe symptoms.
- Hospital opened internal probe into protocol adherence during two prior visits and emergency call-out.
- Girl died in ambulance en route after third call; further tests to identify infection agent.
An autopsy has revealed that pneumonia caused the death of a 15-month-old girl who was seen twice at Andorra's hospital emergency department on the day she died, 29 November.
The forensic examination will further investigate the specific agent behind the infection to gather complete details, which could help determine any potential liabilities. The girl's parents filed a police complaint the following day, alleging possible medical negligence. They had sought help multiple times, yet staff assessed her symptoms—a severe respiratory viral condition—as a common cold and sent her home with medication.
Hospital management, which has stayed in close contact with the family, has also opened an internal inquiry. It will examine whether medical staff followed proper protocols and guidelines in diagnosing based on the child's symptoms and the parents' accounts.
Questions centre on the repeated visits. On the Thursday before her death, the parents brought her in as she was already unwell. Two days later, on the Saturday, they returned twice after no improvement. Each time, evaluations concluded with a routine cold diagnosis, and they were advised to go home. It was only on a third, emergency call-out that paramedics were activated, but the girl died in the ambulance en route to hospital.
Authorities have yet to clarify what may have gone wrong in the assessments.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: