Justice in the name of Baby Sophia
by Moyce Williams
"I had no idea that meningitis was so dangerous, so scary. There weren't many people in the emergency room that night, and I thought I would get service, but I didn't. if that doctor had done his job Sophia would be here today"
- Charlena Mahoney
The first sign that something was terribly wrong with little Sophia came about 6 PM., when the 6-month-old infant began groaning and whimpering on the couch in her parents' Norcross home.
"She was a very healthy baby, very playful," Charlena Mahoney recalled. "It was unusual for her to lay on the couch moaning like that; so I took her to the hospital."
That was on March 1, 1989. About 16 hours later, Sophia Elizabeth Handson died from meningitis, the victim of an emergency room physician who failed to diagnose the deadly disease.
"I was numb and just wanted to die," Mahoney said. "I stopped wearing my seat belts and stuff like that. But my husband was furious and wanted them to pay. He was like a crazed man out for justice."
A couple months after the death, the parents took their case to the Atlanta firm of Thomas, Kennedy, Sampson & Patterson, a nationally recognized law firm and one of the premier personal injury and medical malpractice firms in the country. Thomas G. Sampson a co-founder and managing partner of the firm, handled the case along with attorney Divida Gude formerly of Thomas Kennedy.
"Thomas was impressive." "He had just won that big case with a baby boy, a circumcision-maiming that resulted in a $22.8 million settlement. I was totally confident that he knew what he was doing."
Mahoney's judgment was accurate:Recently-six years after losing the youngest of three daughters-Mahoney received a substantial settlement in the case. The exact amount is sealed and can not be made public, under the terms of the agreement.
"What happened to this woman and her family was tragic," Sampson said. "No amount of money can compensate the parents for the loss of a child, but I am pleased that we were able to help Charlena in her time of suffering -not just as attorneys, but also as friends." That's what this firm is about: Excellent representation and the finest service possible."