According to a January 31 posting by reporter Beau Berman – who broke the story leading to the complaint – the Department of Public Health has confirmed that it is assigning an investigator to review the complaint.
For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the case, in February 2013, 15-year-old Justina Pelletier was checked into Boston Children’s Hospital with flu-like symptoms by her parents. Prior to her admission, Justina had been undergoing treatments for Mitochondrial Disorder at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
At the recommendation of her doctor at Tufts Medical Center, Justina was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital to see a gastro-intestinal specialist, Dr. Alex Flores, who had recently transferred from Tufts to BCH.
Almost immediately, a different team of doctors swept in. delivering a different diagnosis, questioning the original diagnosis of mitochondrial disease, explains Beau Berman, Investigative Reporter with FOX News in Connecticut.
The Hartford-Courant explains what happened next:
*Within 24 hours of being admitted to Boston Children’s in February, physicians came up with a different diagnosis for Justina: somatoform disorder, a psychologically induced condition that has physical symptoms.
*Justina’s parents, Linda and Lou Pelletier, objected to the diagnosis and sought to discharge her from the hospital and take her to Tufts Medical Center, where she was originally diagnosed with mitochondrial disease.
*But hospital officials refused and reported suspicions of medical child abuse to the state in February, according to a source familiar with the situation and media reports. Shortly afterward, the state assumed custody of Justina.
*Justina’s parents, Linda and Lou Pelletier, objected to the diagnosis and sought to discharge her from the hospital and take her to Tufts Medical Center, where she was originally diagnosed with mitochondrial disease.
*But hospital officials refused and reported suspicions of medical child abuse to the state in February, according to a source familiar with the situation and media reports. Shortly afterward, the state assumed custody of Justina.