CLEARWATER — Polk County parents are suing a Pinellas County children's hospital, alleging medical negligence caused the death of their child.
Joseph Petkoff and Holly Petkoff, co-personal representatives of the estate of Nicoli Tylor Petkoff, a minor child deceased, filed a complaint Sept. 7 in Pinellas County Circuit Court against John Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Inc., and unknown nurses, alleging negligent care and treatment rendered to Nicoli Petkoff while she was a patient at the hospital.
According to the complaint, on Jan. 14, 2016, Nicoli was was a patient at Johns Hopkins when a nurse attempted to insert a nasal tube into Nicoli that was not properly positioned for insertion and it was forced into the pleural cavity, deflating the patient's lung.
Furthermore, the suit alleges, Hopkins nurses allowed a food particulate to enter Nicoli's lungs by way of a feeding tube, which was allowed to become dislodged. As a result, Nicoli's parents say their child suffered for two months with a punctured lung, causing premature death March 17, 2016.
The plaintiffs allege John Hopkins All Children's Hospital and unknown nurses breached their duty of care owed to a minor patient by forcibly inserting the ND tube so that it actually punctured the lung and allowed a tube to be fed without constant observation.
The Petkoffs seek trial by jury, damages of more than $15,000, plus prejudgment interest on liquidated sums, costs of this action and all other just and proper relief. They are represented by attorney Thomas C. Saunders of Saunders Law Group in Bartow.
Pinellas County Circuit Court case number 18C5928