Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California

I took my daughter to urgent care on 11/18/09 and she was seen by a physician - not her primary physician. My daughter is asthmatic and is allergic to flonase (flonase causes her lips to swell) - both which is noted in her health chart and was reiterated to the doctor and nurse. When I was 1st asked what my daughter was there for I stated she has had a persistant cough for the last two days and was even sent out of class because she couldn't stop coughing. She also complained of her chest feeling tight, and having a hard time breathing. Whenever my daughter developes a cold her asthma flares up and she has a hard time breathing, I up her asthma medication (as directed by her primary doctor when flare ups arise) but if it doesn't help then I bring her into urgent can and she is usually given a breathing treatment or given a prescription for a liquid steriod to open her system up in addition to her asthma medicine dosage increase and any other prescriptions she needs at that time.

The nurse that saw my daughter before she was seen by the doctor gave her a peak flow test. She performed the Peak Flow test twice I don't know what the 1st reading was but my daughter was doing a lot of coughing before and after the test. The nurse had her blow again. The nurse told me she blew a 200, which she said was close to the normal range for her height which is 215. She was taken to the exam room. When the doctor came in I again explained why my daughter was brought there. He asked what medication was she being given, I told him her asthma medicine (Proair & Flovent) and Mucinex for the cough. He asked how often does she have asthma flare ups I told him whenever she has a cold which may be about once per month and if her asthma gets too bad she is given a breathing treatment or a liquid steriod (Prednisolone Sodium). He said he felt that was a lot and expressed he felt her asthma was severe. He then proceeded to listen to my daughters chest and breathing with the steathascope. He said he didn't hear any wheezing and he heard her cough, as she coughed the entire time. He said he didn't think her cough was related to asthma he felt it was "just a cough". He told me he would prescribe a stronger cough medicine and advised me that I should stop the asthma medication as he felt her illness had nothing to do with asthma. I left and went down to the pharmacy to pick up the medication (Promethazine / Codeine). After paying for the medication the pharmacist talked to me about the medicine. She advised me when to give my daughter the medicine 1x a day at bedtime. She said this medicine is not normally given to children under 16 but in the doctor prescribes it then it should be ok. Then she proceeded to tell me that I see your daughter is allergic to flonase, so there is a chance she might have an allergic reaction to this, but she assured me it's a small chance.

My daughter was going to be staying with my mother so that I can continue to go to work while she was sick. I got back to my mothers house and read the paper that talked about the prescription and not only did it say not recommended for Children under 16 but it also stated not recommended for patients with respitory problems such as asthma. I was afraid to give her the medicine and she have an allergic reaction while she was in the care of my parents. So I told my mother to just give the mucinex to help with the cough and not the asthma medication since the doctor said it was not asthma related and she didnt need it and it wouldn't help. The next day my mother called me at work and told me my daughter coughed all night and was having a hard time sleeping due to trouble breathing. I told my mother to give her her asthma medication. It helped a little. By Sunday 11/22/09 my daughter could barely talk, she couldn't walk or talk without choking and coughing. I took her back to urgent care. The performed another peak flow test, twice my daughter could only blow a 100 which means she was barely breathing. The doctor listened to her chest and breathing with the stethescope and heard slight wheezing. But she said she could tell my daughter was struggling to breath. She checked my daughters ears (which was not done at the last visit) and discovered my daughter also had an ear infection. She prescribed an antibiotic for the ear infection and prescribed a liquid steriod, my daughter also had to get a nebulizer treatment because she was that bad off. I explained about the previous visit and the medicine that was prescribed and she alerted me I should not give that to my daughter due to the fact that Promethazine w/Codeine increases mucous, asthma patients already have alot of mucous in their passageways which is why they struggle to breath. Which is why promethazine has a warning that it's not recommended to children under 16 and people with respitory problems such as asthma. As of today the coughing as subsided but she is still struggling to breath and just to talk even with all the medicine she is taking. I am wondering if this was caught during the 1st visit maybe she wouldn't be so bad off right now. Also if I had given her that medicine he prescribed which #1 may have caused allergic reaction, #2 was not recommended for a child her age (which was 6 at the time), # 3 which was not recommended for someone with asthma. I would like to know if I have a case.

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