PALM BEACH — The parents of an 8-year-old boy who died following a bone marrow transplant at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in Palm Beach Circuit Court, alleging that hospital staff and affiliated physicians misled the family, failed to obtain informed consent and provided negligent care that led to their son’s death.
Robin and Micaela Ferguson filed the lawsuit over their son, Elijah Ferguson, who was born in 2014 and had sickle cell disease. It had been successfully managed for years through medication and occasional transfusions, according to the complaint filed November 3 in Palm Beach Circuit Court.
Elijah Ferguson typically experienced only one or two mild pain episodes each year, none requiring intensive treatment.
In 2022, the family began exploring the possibility of a bone marrow transplant, after learning that Elijah Fergison’s younger sister was a perfect donor match.
The lawsuit alleges that when the Fergusons turned to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Kidz Medical Services for evaluation, they were misled by the hospital’s transplant team into believing a bone marrow transplant was the best and safest course of treatment.
The complaint claims that Dr. Jorde Galvez, one of the physicians involved in Elijah Ferguson’s care, advised the parents that the procedure carried “very few complication risks” despite Elijah Ferguson’s mild condition and limited history of hospitalizations.
The suit names multiple defendants, including Variety Children’s Hospital doing business as Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Miami Children’s Health System Inc., Kidz Medical Services Inc. and three doctors, Dr. Galvez, Dr. Ossama Maher and Dr. Marcos Antonio Mestre.
The Fergusons contend that Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and its associated entities failed to properly evaluate Elijah Ferguson’s medical history before recommending a bone marrow transplant and did not inform the parents of less invasive options.
The complaint further alleges that the hospital and its physicians failed to obtain proper informed consent for both the transplant and the bone marrow harvest from Elijah Ferguson’s sister.
Court filings state that the hospital used a treatment protocol derived from a Washington University clinical trial without disclosing this to the family or obtaining their consent.
The complaint says that Nicklaus Children’s Hospital had no Institutional Review Board overseeing its use of the clinical trial protocol on children, despite the Fergusons’ clear statements that they did not want their son to participate in any research trials.
Elijah Ferguson underwent the transplant in July 2023.
According to the complaint, his doctors failed to properly monitor his immune-suppressing medication levels, detect signs of infection, and treat complications that developed after the procedure.
The lawsuit describes a series of alleged medical missteps, including the premature discontinuation of crucial therapies, failure to recognize the progression of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), and inappropriate medication changes that masked the severity of Elijah Ferguson’s condition.
By late summer, Elijah Ferguson developed severe gastrointestinal symptoms and was diagnosed with aGVHD, a serious complication in which donor cells attack the recipient’s tissues.
Despite this diagnosis, the complaint states, the hospital stopped certain key treatments and failed to introduce alternative therapies in time to prevent further decline.
Throughout the fall of 2023, Elijah Ferguson’s parents repeatedly pleaded with hospital staff and administrators for a transfer to another facility, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.
The complaint alleges that these efforts were delayed or blocked by Galvez, Maher and Mestre, even as Elijah Ferguson’s condition worsened.
On Oct. 31, 2023, the Fergusons submitted a formal grievance letter to the hospital’s Patient and Guest Relations Department, expressing alarm over what they described as a lack of coherent treatment planning.
They received acknowledgment that an investigation was underway but, according to the lawsuit, no substantive resolution followed.
Subsequent letters and meetings with hospital officials failed to produce an approved transfer or a new treatment strategy.
By December 2023, Elijah Ferguson’s condition had deteriorated severely. The complaint alleges that he was intubated without his parents’ consent on Dec. 29, the same day he died from untreated acute graft-versus-host disease.
The Fergusons’ lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $50,000, exclusive of fees and costs, and asserts that all statutory pre-suit requirements under Florida law have been met.
It claims the hospital and its affiliated medical providers breached their duties to provide adequate care, obtain informed consent and comply with state and federal regulations governing hospital operations and patient safety.
Palm Beach Circuit Court case number: 502025CA011454
