MOORE, Okla. – An Oklahoma toddler with cerebral palsy reportedly has little to no option for medical care in our state.
That’s because his family is suing the physicians group who they believe is responsible for problems during his birth.
Because of that lawsuit, the physicians group is refusing to treat not only the little boy, but anyone in his family.
The family filed the lawsuit about a year ago against the physicians who delivered their child.
They’re part of the OU Physicians group, which has more than 600 doctors across Oklahoma.
Henry Hale is like most toddlers, except he gets around a little differently.
He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was only a year old.
“He’s very happy, he’s very busy and active, he’s very personable,” his mother, Keri Hale, said.
Keri is always running Henry to doctors’ appointments and therapy.
Now almost three-years-old, Henry is doing well.
That’s why when their family got a letter from OU Physicians, their hearts sank.
“I just was really shocked, like how could they do this to him? Why would they want to do this to him?” Hale said.
The letter is from the chief medical officer, and it states that Henry can no longer be treated by more than 600 doctors under the umbrella of OU Physicians.
That’s because the Hales filed a lawsuit last year against the doctors who delivered Henry.
His family says the little boy suffered brain damage during his birth.
“We allege the care that was provided to the mother during labor and delivery did not meet the standard of care,” attorney Jacob Diesselhorst said.
Diesselhorst says the family’s lawsuit has nothing to do with Henry’s current doctors and argues OU Physicians went too far in denying care to not just Henry, but his whole family.
“The way I interpret that is they’re cutting off care to this brain damaged child, they’re cutting off care to his mother and father, cutting off care to his brother and sister,” Diesselhorst said.
The Hales have filed a restraining order against OU Physicians and are working to find new specialists for Henry, but it’s hard because most in Oklahoma work under OU Physicians.
“If you’ve ever met Henry, I mean how could you deny him care? How could you not want to help him?” Hale said.
OU Physicians says it’s necessary to terminate the Hales from their care because of that pending lawsuit, but they said the family won’t be turned down in an emergency room if they need urgent care.
The group’s attorney told NewsChannel 4 that’s been their policy for more than 10 years.
The Hale family will go before a judge later this month who will rule on the restraining order.