A lawsuit filed in the United States blames a hospital under cyberattack for the death of a baby
A lawsuit filed in the United States blames a hospital under cyberattack for the death of a baby
An Alabama woman, whose 9-month-old daughter died, has filed a lawsuit against the hospital where she was born, alleging that the hospital failed to disclose that its computer systems had been crippled by a cyberattack, resulting in diminished care, which ultimately resulted in the baby's death. The hospital has not responded to the lawsuit. Teiranni Kidd, the child's mother, filed a lawsuit against Springhill Medical Center, alleging that the hospital was under attack by ransomware on July 17, 2019, at the time of Nicko Silar's birth. The failure of electronic devices as a result of the attack meant that a doctor was unable to properly monitor the child's condition during delivery, according to the lawsuit.
After months of intensive care at another hospital, the baby died last year as a result of severe brain injuries and other complications. It was first reported on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal that the lawsuit, which was initially filed in Mobile County in 2019 while Nicko was still alive, had been settled. It is claimed in the malpractice lawsuit, which seeks an undisclosed sum of money from Springhill and Dr. Katelyn Braswell Parnell (who delivered Nicko), that Springhill failed to inform Kidd or anyone else about the severity of the cyberattack until after Nicko was born. According to the lawsuit, if the woman had known what was going on, she would have chosen a "different and safer hospital for labor and delivery."
Springhill has denied any wrongdoing and asked a judge to dismiss the most serious part of the lawsuit, which alleges that officials conspired to publicly create a "false, misleading, and deceptive narrative" about the cyberattack as part of a scheme that made the child's delivery unsafe. Springhill has also asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. Parnell, according to the hospital, "was fully aware of the inaccessibility of the relevant systems, including those in the labor and delivery unit," and yet "determined that (Kidd) could safely deliver her at Springhill," according to the hospital's statement. According to the hospital, Alabama law did not impose any legal obligation on the hospital to provide Kidd with information regarding the cyberattack.
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Parnell and her medical group, Bay Area Physicians for Women, have both denied that they did anything to harm Nicko or that their actions were responsible for the child's injuries and death. "Our staff has continued to safely care for our patients and we will continue to provide the high quality of service that our patients deserve and expect," Springhill said in a public statement about the cyberattack the day before the child was born, as reported by WKRG-TV at the time.
