The Tafoya family has taken legal action against Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque for the alleged 10-hour delay of care provided to their 12-year-old, Meiah. She had fallen at school and was brought to the hospital seeking medical attention; however, her parents declared that personnel neglected to tend to her despite a decrease in temperature detected on her leg. Owing to this negligence, she had to be interchanged and subsequently underwent an amputation procedure at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

The family has accused the hospital’s employees of acting “unreasonably,” and not giving prompt treatment. The hospital, however, has yet to respond to these claims.

On October 14th, Meiah Tafoya had a regrettable fall while at school that resulted in an injury to her leg. Stephanie Sedillo was notified of the incident by the school and quickly raced to them, but unfortunately, she arrived too late as rescue personnel had already transported her daughter to Albuquerque’s Presbyterian Hospital.

Desperately advocating for her daughter, Ms. Sedillo pleaded with the hospital staff multiple times to examine her daughter’s leg which was steadily losing heat. After receiving a triage and an X-ray of her left leg, they had to wait another 10 hours before seeing a doctor once more.

“The guy finally said that, he started panicking because he realized that her leg was cold, and she was screaming so crazy that, he’s like, ‘we gotta get her transported to UNM [University of New Mexico]’,” Ms. Sedillo stated.

The University of New Mexico Hospital medical staff determined that they would have to amputate Meiah’s left leg. Her family reported she underwent four more operations, and her recovery process lasted for over three months in the hospital setting. “It’s been hell, it’s been hard,” stated Ms. Sedillo.

The Sedillo family has initiated legal action against Presbyterian Hospital, claiming their representatives acted “unreasonably” and failed to provide adequate care in proper time. Todd Bullion, the advocate for the Sedillos shared: “We’re gonna find out exactly why this happened and hopefully prevent something like this from happening to anyone else ever again.”

Court documents unveiled that the hospital lacked sufficient information to refute or affirm the accusations. The complaint’s claims were thus “not expressly admitted or denied” by the medical facility. “Presbyterian was recently served with the complaint, and we will reserve comment on pending litigation for the appropriate venue,” the hospital stated.

The Sedillo family’s legal action serves as a cautionary tale of the need for prompt medical care. Stephanie, Meiah’s mother, must now adapt to caring for her daughter in this new chapter. Ms. Sedillo started a GoFundMe page to help cover expenses and has been met with great support; it currently stands at over $7000 out of its original goal of $20,000.

Meiah shared that she is doing her best to adjust to the changes in her life. “It’s a little easy, a little hard. I’m going to get through it though,” she stated.

In light of this family’s lawsuit, the importance of prompt medical attention is made abundantly clear. The fallout from a delay can be devastating and heartbreaking. Understandably, they would like to know why their loved one experienced such pain and suffering in order to ensure that no other family has to endure what they have gone through. To show solidarity during this trying time, the community is uniting behind them with love and support.