a 23-year-old young man dies after a “very serious” allergy, his family compensated

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The administrative court of Versailles ordered the National Office for Compensation for Medical Accidents (ONIAM) to pay a little more than €113,000 in compensation to the family of a 23-year-old who died just six years ago from a “very serious” complication at Longjumeau hospital when he was initially scheduled to undergo surgery for a simple “uncomplicated appendicitis “.

Three successive cardiac arrests

The deceased's parents requested “the minimum sum” of “€40,000” each, “€20,000” for each of his five brothers and sisters aged 8 to 33 and a little more than €10,000 for their travel expenses. funeral. The young man's mother, for her part, requested more than €8,500 additional from ONIAM, on a personal basis, for her “loss of professional earnings” : she was placed on sick leave for nine months after the death of her son and returned to her therapeutic part-time duties for a year.

“On January 3, 2019 at 2:14 p.m., Mr. XXX […] then aged 23, was taken care of within […] emergency department of the Longjumeau hospital center”, begins by reporting the administrative court of Versailles in a judgment dated November 7, 2024 which has just been made public. “The diagnosis of uncomplicated acute appendicitis having been made, Mr. XXX was transferred to the visceral surgery department […] and operated on the same day at 10:30 p.m..” But he died three hours later after “three successive cardiac arrests.”

Expertisewas finally entrusted a year later, in December 2020, to a specialist in visceral surgery and a specialist in intensive care to determine whether part of the responsibility in this death could be attributed to the doctors at Longjumeau hospital.

Longjumeau hospital exonerated

But “during his admission to the emergency department […]Mr. XXX presented with acute appendicitis, the form of which required surgical intervention due to the major risk of occurrence of peritonitis, which constitutes a vital emergency », begins by recalling the administrative court of Versailles in its judgment. “Mr. XXX had no known history of allergies, nor any particular history outside […] gastroesophageal reflux, obesity […] and a cyst on the thigh operated on in September 2019.”

“However, upon induction of anesthesia […]ten minutes after treatment in the operating room, Mr. XXX suffered anaphylactic shock [réaction allergique] very serious […] with cardio-respiratory arrest and massive lung edema at the origin of his death”, relate the judges. The experts had judged that “the indication for surgical intervention”, “the inductions of anesthesia” and “the management […] of anaphylactic shock” had been “in accordance with the rules of medical art” and did not constitute “faults” on the part of the hospital.

“The death of Mr. XXX […] constitutes a therapeutic hazard whose occurrence is of the order of 1/7,000 […] and leads to the death of the patient in 3 to 9% of casesdepending on the country, which presents the character of a low probability,” they explained. The National Medical Accident Compensation Office, which intervenes to compensate “medical accidents” which present “an abnormal and serious nature”, had also said in the end “not to oppose compensation » while requesting a reduction in the amounts claimed.

ONIAM – which will have to cover the €2,500 fees of each of the two experts and add €1,800 in legal costs for the young man's family – has until January 7, 2025 to challenge this judgmentbefore the administrative court of appeal of Versailles, just like the patient's relatives.

G.F / PressPepper

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