Speaking to northern newspaper Jornal de Notícias (JN), 19-year-old Sara’s parents said on all 11 occasions that their daughter went to the emergency unit at the Padre Américo Hospital in Penafiel, doctors told her she was suffering from anxiety.
She died at home on 10 January this year, two days after her last visit to the hospital.
An autopsy subsequently uncovered a 1.670 kilo tumour in the girl’s head.
According to her parents, Sara had been vomiting, blacking out and suffered urinary incontinence on top of the crippling headaches, but on none of her visits to the hospital did doctors suggest a head scan.
Her mother claims on one of the visits Sara even blacked out while being examined by a doctor.
The teen’s parents are now claiming medical negligence and have taken the matter to court.
“We won’t forgive the doctors. We have lost our daughter, who, if she had been taken care of, might still be with us”, said Mário Moreira and Maria de Fátima Silva.
The couple, from Recarei, Paredes, recalled that their daughter’s problems started in 2010 with strong headaches, and the very next month sought medical help for the first time at the Hospital Padre Américo’s emergency unit.
Between 11 and 14 June 2012 she was seen by that same unit three times.
Her mother claims to have asked doctors to carry out examinations on Sara, “but they just kept saying that she was nervous because of her studies.”
The management of the hospital in question told JN that “the facts happened before the taking over of the current administrative committee” and that seeing as court proceedings are ongoing and covered by “secret of justice”, the hospital cannot answer any questions put to it.