Georgia Girl, 2, Was Taken to a Hospital After She Was Bitten by Fire Ants. Now, Her Parents Have Filed a Wrongful Death Suit
After their 2-year-old daughter died from an allergic reaction to fire ant bites, a Georgia mother and father have filed a wrongful death suit against the hospital where they brought her to receive aid.
Maya Getahun died in October 2024 during a visit to Piedmont Eastside Medical Center, according to a complaint filed in Gwinnett County on Friday, April 4. Per the lawsuit, Maya “died needlessly because of substandard medical care.”
In the court documents, Maya’s parents, Bethelhem Getu Hundie and Getahun Birhanu, state they took their daughter to the hospital after realizing she was experiencing an allergic reaction.
Once they arrived at the medical facility, they claim it took medical staff “over 20 minutes” to administer epinephrine,” the life-saving drug used in the treatment of allergic reactions, the legal documents add.
Bell Law Firm
Maya Getahun
Related: 13-Year-Old Girl Dies of ‘Severe Allergic Reaction’ After Accidentally Eating an Unsafe Dessert
The suit further claims that ER physician Dr. Richisa Salazar “attempted to intubate Maya, but once she started the procedure, Dr. Salazar realized the ER did not have the correctly sized equipment necessary for a young child,” and therefore the “hospital lacked the equipment needed to complete the pediatric intubation.”
The complaint states that Maya’s parents “looked on helplessly as their daughter slowly died from lack of oxygen.”
“What happened to Maya is every parent’s worst nightmare,” a representative from Bell Law Firm, which is representing the family, said in an email statement to PEOPLE.
“There was a critical window to treat her allergic reaction, yet the ER team failed to act,” they continue.
“Even worse, when the ER doctor, Dr. Salazar, tried to intubate Maya, the team realized they didn’t have the right-sized equipment for a child. Her parents watched in horror as nurses scrambled to find a pediatric breathing tube while Maya was losing oxygen. She died in front of them, something no family should ever endure,” added the representative.
The firm further explained that this is the “third case” they have brought against Dr. Salazar, and the second involving, what the complaints claim, were “preventable death[s] due to a failed intubation.”
“Maya deserved better, and so does every patient,” the firm concluded in their email statement.
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The family is seeking a jury trial and that “judgment be entered in plaintiff’s favor in an amount in excess of $10,000,” per the official complaint.
Dr. Salazar and Piedmont Healthcare, the company that owns Piedmont Eastside Medical Center, have not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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