The heartbroken family of a promising high school graduate who died in agony after getting stitches for an arm injury is suing the surgeon they claim made a fatal error.
Ethan Cantrell, 18, passed away on August 20, 2024, five days after he was treated for a wound in his arm sustained after he fell on a branch while chopping wood.
The high school football star was initially treated at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, western Oregon, where a surgeon closed the wound.
However, the doctor allegedly failed to remove pine needles and moss that were lodged inside the cut, according to a $100 million lawsuit filed by his family.
Medics also failed to perform CT scans, which allegedly could have shown the deadly debris lodged inside his wound, and did not administer the full range of antibiotics which could have saved his life, the legal filing claims.
Cantrell suffered five days of unbearable pain, including a raging fever sparked by fast-spreading bacteria which caused his arm to double in size as it swelled.
Surgeons at a second hospital scrambled to save him by amputating the limb from his shoulder, but he passed away after five days of agony, according to the lawsuit seen by Oregon Live.
‘It’s just a sad, sad case,’ Brent Barton, the lawyer representing Cantrell’s estate, told the outlet.
The heartbroken family of a promising high school graduate who died in agony after undergoing simple surgery for an arm injury have sued the doctor they claim made a fatal error. Ethan Cantrell, 18, passed away on August 20, 2024
Ethan Cantrell, 18, passed away on August 20, 2024, five days after he was treated for a wound in his arm sustained after he fell on a branch while chopping wood. Above, Ethan with his mom
The family’s lawsuit takes aim at the Corvallis hospital, two doctors and the professional group which employs them, Mary’s Peak Emergency Physicians. The Daily Mail has reached out to the hospital for comment.
‘Our sympathies are with all who have been impacted by this loss,’ Tyler Jacobsen, vice president and chief legal officer of Samaritan Health Services, told the Daily Mail in a statement.
‘We take all concerns about patient care seriously, and we will respond through the appropriate legal process.’
Cantrell was a recent graduate of Alsea High School, located in a rural western Oregon community about 50 miles outside of Eugene.
His heartbroken mother said he had just gotten engaged to his high school sweetheart and was well-known at his school for being the star of his football team, along with playing basketball and powerlifting.
Cantrell was looking forward to starting a career in the logging industry, following in the footsteps of four previous generations in his family, according to his obituary.
He was chopping wood in rural Alsea on the morning of August 15, 2024, when the horror began. Cantrell fell from a log and punctured his arm on a branch.
He first sought medical care at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center’s emergency room, about 40 minutes away.
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Cantrell suffered five days of unbearable pain, including a raging fever sparked by fast-spreading bacteria which caused his arm to double in size as it swelled, per the lawsuit
Cantrell was a recent graduate and football star from Alsea High School, located in a rural west Oregon community. Above, with his mother on the football field
Cantrell was looking forward to starting a career in the logging industry, following in the footsteps of four previous generations in his family, according to his obituary
His family’s lawsuit states that he was first seen by a doctor there after waiting for about an hour.
The doctor diagnosed his wound as a laceration, washed it with saline solution, then stitched it together and sent Cantrell home with an antibiotic, according to the complaint.
‘As a general rule, laceration wounds are closed after cleaning,’ the lawsuit reads.
‘Deeper puncture wounds are left open or only loosely closed to allow drainage.
‘Tightly closing a deep wound, especially if it may contain foreign material, increases the risk of infection.’
Hours later, Cantrell began suffering with a fever of 102.5 degrees and a painfully swollen arm, his family said.
His mother called the hospital to report the symptoms, but said in the lawsuit that a nurse told them it was likely Covid-19 and not to worry.
The nurse checked his medical record but did not consult a doctor, according to the complaint.
Cantrell took a Covid-19 test, which was negative, and returned to the hospital the next day, August 17.
Ethan’s heartbroken mother said he had just gotten engaged to his high school sweetheart, and was well-known at his school for being the star of his football team, along with playing basketball and powerlifting. Above, with his family on the football field
Another doctor opened his wound to take a look, and found ’12 pieces of organic plant matter, including twigs, pine needles, and moss,’ according to the lawsuit.
They tested cultures in the wound, which showed it was infected with bacteria.
Cantrell’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he was airlifted to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
Staff at this hospital ‘immediately recognized Ethan’s condition as life-threatening,’ according to the lawsuit.
Surgeons scrambled unsuccessfully to save Cantrell’s life by performing several operations on his arm, including eventually amputating it at the shoulder.
His heartbroken relatives and fiancée were by his side when he died.
They are seeking $25 million in economic losses for medical costs and lost future income and $75 million for his pain and suffering.
