Chapter 20, Problem 1CT

A three-year-old boy complains to his day care worker that his head hurts. The worker calls the child’s mother, who arrives 30 minutes later to pick up her son. She is concerned that he is now listless and unresponsive, so she drives straight to the hospital emergency room. Though the medical staff immediately treats the boy with penicillin, he dies—only four hours after initially complaining of a headache. What caused the boy’s death? Were the day care workers or the hospital staff to blame for his death? What steps should be taken to protect the other children at the day care facility?