TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about stillbirth and infant loss, which may be triggering to some.
A Massachusetts couple was paid a $15 million settlement by Boston Children's Hospital following the death of their 6-month-old son, who died while undergoing a sleep study. The couple, Becky and Ryan Kekula, as well as their late son Jackson, all have dwarfism, which can lead to sleep apnea, per NBC 5. Jackson's heart rate and oxygen levels dropped during the study, and he went into cardiac arrest. An investigation showed that there was an error on the part of the hospital staff, the outlet reported.
The couple refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement as part of the settlement. They shared that telling others what happened to their son is part of their healing process.
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Their son was scheduled for a car seat test and sleep study.
Becky and Ryan Kekula took their son Jackson to Boston Children's Hospital for a scheduled car seat test and sleep study on February 18, 2022, reported NBC 5. Sadly, his heart rate and oxygen levels dropped quickly during the sleep study. A half hour into the study, the technician reportedly told the parents something was wrong and that Jackson had gone into cardiac arrest, the news outlet reported.
They had to make the difficult decision to take their baby off of life support.
Jackson was given CPR by the hospital staff following the cardiac arrest, but severe damage was done to his brain, per NBC 5. His family had to make the difficult decision to take him off of life support 12 days later.
Becky Kekula said: "I keep telling people, year 2 is harder than year 1. I think now that it is settled, there's still a big hole because we'd much rather have him here than any amount of money."
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An investigation showed that the hospital staff made an error that left the infant without oxygen for 20 minutes.
An investigation was conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health following Jackson's death, reported People. The investigation found that a series of errors were made by the hospital staff that left the infant without oxygen for more than 20 minutes. Following the investigation, the couple was awarded the $15 million settlement from Boston Children's Hospital.
The hospital released a statement about the case.
Following the tragic incident and the settlement, Boston Children's Hospital released a statement. "We express our deepest condolences and apologize to the family for the loss of their son," the hospital wrote. "Following this incident, we immediately stopped all sleep studies and began a thorough review of what occurred. We examined our policies, staff training, competencies and all systems that support sleep lab studies, including scheduling, ordering, triaging and performing the actual study."
The hospital also shared that it had "identified and implemented improvements" on how it conducts sleep studies before reinstating them. Changes include skill training and education for sleep lab staff, a review of the testing environment, revised responsibilities of team members, and modifications to the triage process that "assesses potential risks to patients," People reported.