(KRON) — John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center was hit with a wrongful death lawsuit accusing the hospital and doctors of negligence for the death of an Acalanes High School athlete. The lawsuit claims that the teenager’s death was “preventable.”
Amin Noroozi, 17, was a popular varsity football player at Acalanes High School in Lafayette. As a three-sport athlete, he also competed in wrestling and track and field.
On April 13, a sunny day at Stinson Beach with friends changed in an instant when Noroozi ran across the sand, dove into shallow ocean waves, and hit his head on a sandbar. “When Amin struck his head on a sandbar, his neck snapped, causing a severe injury to his cervical spinal column,” the lawsuit writes.
Noroozi was airlifted in a helicopter to John Muir hospital’s Level 2 trauma center in Walnut Creek, where he underwent emergency spinal surgery. The high school athlete died at the hospital four days later, on April 17.
The lawsuit states, “This case concerns the preventable death of seventeen-year-old Amin Noroozi, a promising student-athlete whose life was cut short by systematic medical failures at John Muir Health (JMH). Despite successfully surviving the initial trauma of a diving accident, Amin died four days later due to defendants’ gross negligence in managing life-threatening complications that should have been anticipated and treated according to established medical protocols.”
Attorneys with Khashayar Law Group are representing Noroozi’s parents and filed the suit Contra Costa Superior County Court last month.
Noroozi’s neck injury was a high-level spinal cord injury (SCI). It severely disrupted the communication between his brain and his body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS), according to the suit.
“The ANS controls involuntary functions essential to life, including blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature regulation. When the neural pathways controlling these functions are damaged, it creates a state of dangerous dysregulation that requires expert, continuous monitoring and intervention,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims that the hospital failed to deliver an accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and appropriate medication.
After surgery was completed, the teenager’s health rapidly deteriorated to life-threatening. Hospital staff members allegedly failed to take swift action when Noroozi suffered cardiac arrest, kidney damage, and sepsis.
“The mismanagement of Amin Noroozi’s care, particularly in the critical post-surgical period, was so extreme and comprehensive that it virtually guaranteed he would not survive. Despite undergoing what appeared to be a successful initial surgery, Amin received grossly inadequate care that directly caused his suffering and death,” the lawsuit states.
John Muir’s Level 2 trauma center should not have accepted Noroozi as a patient because it was not qualified and lacked pediatric expertise, attorneys claim. According to the suit, multiple Level 1 trauma centers with “vastly superior capabilities” were available to Noroozi, including UCSF-Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland and Stanford Hospital.
A John Muir Health hospital spokesperson did not respond to KRON4’s request for comment Thursday.
John Muir released a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, writing, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Mr. Noroozi. John Muir Health is a nationally recognized provider that treats complex, high-acuity cases using evidence-based protocols and multidisciplinary teams, and when appropriate we coordinate transfers through established regional networks. We stand behind the professionalism and dedication of our physicians, nurses, and staff, and we remain focused on patient safety, quality, and continuous improvement.”
The lawsuit demands a jury trial.
A GoFundMe page that raised donations for the teenager’s ICU medical care and his celebration of life raised nearly $200,000.
