A paediatrician from Genk has received a one-year suspended prison sentence and an €800 fine from the Tongeren court for the death of 11-year-old Louana Hernandez.
The girl died due to undiagnosed diabetes and the paediatrician’s insistence on an incorrect diagnosis.
On Saturday, 16 November 2021, Louana was taken to the emergency department at the Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (ZOL) hospital, after not eating for several days, drinking little, and not using the toilet.
Doctors discovered that stool had accumulated in her large intestine. No blood or urine tests were performed due to the invasive nature of these procedures. As a result, her diabetes went undiagnosed.
Louana’s condition initially improved but then deteriorated again. Her parents noticed she was drinking excessive amounts of water and informed the nursing staff, though this was not recorded in her medical file.
While Louana’s condition worsened, the paediatrician mistakenly believed she was improving, due to a fixation on the incorrect initial diagnosis.
