Rhône: Despite Two Visits to the Emergency Room, the Student Dies of an Ear Infection

A 19-year-old student died of ear infections in Lyon (Rhône). She has, however, gone twice to the emergency room. Her mother complained against the hospital.

Leana Bonilla Cruz, a 19-year-old student , died on 23 February 2018 from an ear infection at Edouard-Herriot Hospital in Lyon, despite two emergency room visits , reveals Le Progrès this Saturday.

The mother of the young woman announced that she had lodged a complaint for “manslaughter”. She denounces a “medical error” while the hospital rejects any responsibility

The otitis media of her daughter Leana has degenerated into brain abscess, caused by intercranial hypertension, explains the newspaper Lyonnais. The student was transported on the 21st February to the emergency room in serious condition. The doctors had to notice her state of brain death. However, she had visited the hospital twice on the 9th and 12th February, when her health worried her every day.

“The doctors did not take the time to properly diagnose the pain that was affecting my daughter. They could not take her symptoms into account, did not see the urgency of the situation, telling my daughter that otitis was not an emergency.”

Headache and vomiting

According to her mother, Leana “was very weak, she had headaches, vomited … but we did not listen to them because they were young,” she denounces. When she came to the emergency room, the literature student was accompanied by several friends.



If she filed a complaint, the police advised her to initiate civil proceedings . According to Le Progrès, her initiative is unlikely to be supported by the prosecution;

The hospital denies any dysfunction

“I understand that mother’s pain. She is first and foremost a victim, “said Professor Karim Tazarourte, head of the emergency department at the Edouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon.

But, the health facility denies any “dysfunction”. According to the manager, “the exams were strictly normal”. Her temperature was 37.7 ° C and “no vomiting” was noted during her visit to the emergency department. Professor Tazarourte, however, promised to see “what could be done” to avoid this type of drama.