Parents Sue Seventh-day Adventist Clinic in Hagåtña, Guam, Over 5-Year-Old’s Death

David Lubofsky and Cristine Simbahan, parents of a 5-year-old boy, first filed a government claim with Guam Memorial Hospital alleging that negligence resulted in their son’s death. Later, they filed a lawsuit against the Seventh-day Adventist Clinic and others in response to the child’s death.

The parents filed a complaint and jury demand on May 8 seeking damages, a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction. The complaint names Dr. Shishin Miyagi, Ethan Snider, the clinic and an unknown insurance company. According to the documents, the complaint alleges that the boy’s death was a “direct and proximate result of their combined actions amounting to medical malpractice.” These are the parents’ allegations, and the court has not made any findings on them in the material provided.

The complaint also asks the court to determine that the Medical Malpractice Mandatory Arbitration Act is unconstitutional. It argues that the law deprives the parents of fundamental rights guaranteed by the “due process,” “equal protection” and “privilege and immunities” clauses of the Organic Act of Guam and the U.S. Constitution. The complaint says mandatory arbitration would be expensive, time-consuming and limited in scope.

The documents describe the medical visits that preceded the death. According to the documents, David Lubofsky took the boy to the SDA Clinic for a checkup on Oct. 29, 2018. He told Miyagi about his son’s condition, but he felt the doctor disregarded the information and told him there was nothing wrong with the boy. The complaint states that Lubofsky pleaded with Miyagi to examine the child more thoroughly. The doctor performed a quick check, but did not examine the boy’s throat or use a stethoscope, which the complaint says doctors routinely do for a wellness check.

The complaint states that Miyagi assured the father that nothing was wrong. The next day, however, the father returned with the boy to the clinic for urgent care because the child’s condition had worsened. The complaint says Snider saw the boy on Oct. 30, 2018, and said he should be taken to the hospital. Lubofsky asked Snider for a referral so he could take his son to Guam Memorial Hospital, but was told the clinic did not do that, the documents state. Protecting a child who cannot speak for himself is the duty the parents’ claims put before the court (Proverbs 31:8-9).

According to the documents, Lubofsky became agitated because he did not understand why he had been told the day before that nothing was wrong with his son, and the next day the boy had to be taken to the hospital.

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