Boy dies from infection after burns; family blames hospitals

His family suspected the sepsis occurred due to medical negligence from the hospitals that treated him, local news reported.

The boy, surnamed Chen suffered third-degree burns to 45 percent of his body from the hot water of an electric thermos that he had accidentally knocked over while playing with his one-year old sister, said the report.

The five-year-old died yesterday from an inflammation of the entire body due to infection.

After the boy's passing, his family questioned possible delays in his medical treatment at both Miaoli General Hospital where he was first admitted to, and Taichung Veterans' General Hospital (VGH) where he died.

In response to the Chen family's suspicions, chief of plastic surgery at Taichung's VGH Tang Yu-wen was cited as saying, “I don't know if there were delays in the treatment by the hospital that he was first sent to; I am not familiar with their procedures. But he was already in severe condition when he arrived here.”

Tang added that third-degree burns do not necessarily result in death; fatality depends on the area of injury, if there is the additional burn inhalation injury to the airway; and the patient's age and gender, the report continued.

Chen's baby sister also suffered second- to third-degree burns to 21 percent of her body but is currently in stable condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Taichung VGH.

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