Family awarded $30 million after model was left with brain-damage from peanut butter pretzel
A model and actress' family has been awarded a hefty sum after she ate a pretzel which left her with brain damage.
Chantel Giacalone was known for her roles in The Butterfly Effect 3, Hollow Walls, and Skyler before a tragedy struck her and her family.
In 2013, Giacalone was at a convention in Las Vegas, as per The Las Vegas Review-Journal, when she inadvertently ingested peanuts.
The then-27-year-old was modelling clothes at Mandalay Bay South Convention Center when a friend gave her a small pretzel treat, which contained the nuts, the outlet said.
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As someone with a severe nut allergy, she went into anaphylactic shock, leaving her in a medical emergency.
The 27-year-old had eaten a pretzel, but didn’t know it had been infused with peanuts.
According to the outlet, she was unable to breathe, and when MedicWest Ambulance service began to tend to her, something allegedly went very wrong.
According to a lawsuit levied against the ambulance company, the medical attention Giacalone received was incorrect.
Christian Morris, the lawyer of the family, shared that the actress had lost oxygen to her brain and the medics administered intramuscular epinephrine - which provides rapid absorption of adrenaline - and not IV epinephrine (life support adrenaline for the heart).
Morris claimed the medics did not carry intravenous epinephrine, which is required by the Southern Nevada Health District.
Intravenous epinephrine is used when a patient has already entered full anaphylaxis, the outlet reported.
"IV epinephrine is required when a person's allergic reaction is so severe that their circulatory system is about to collapse. In this case, the medics failed to recognize and quickly react to Chantel when she presented at the medic room," Morris told People in a statement.
"She told them she was having an allergic reaction, she told them she was allergic to peanuts and had bitten into a pretzel, and she told them she was not having any relief from her epi-pen.
"Instead of immediately giving her [intramuscular] epinephrine (which they did have in their bags) they checked her blood glucose because they thought she maybe had an altered mental status."
While MedicWest denied its medics did anything wrong, as per the lawsuit, it instead claimed that Giacalone’s sensitivity to peanuts was what caused her to ultimately become brain damaged - not any failings of their staff.
They also said she was conscious throughout her time with her doctors.
On the contrary, Morris said: "[Giacalone] was fearful and agitated. The reason why she was acting that way was because she was 'hypoxic' and losing oxygen to her brain.
"But, they again ignored it and wasted precious time on seeing if she was 'on something' even though she had clearly told them about her allergy.
"Due to the failure to administer the [intramuscular] epinephrine, the need for IV epinephrine was vital, and they didn't have it.
"Instead, when she went unconscious and stopped breathing they gave her a double-dose of [intramuscular] epinephrine, which didn't help her since her body was no longer circulating blood effectively and couldn't pull the medication from her muscle into her bloodstream."
Now, the 40-year-old is quadriplegic and requires round-the-clock care by her parents, Jack and Deborah Giacalone.
The only way she is able to communicate is with her eyes and she also needs a feeding tube to eat.
“Every minute of Chantel’s life has been inextricably altered,” Morris said, as per the outlet. “Every single minute since she walked into that medic room to a company that chose profits over patient care.”
In the end, her family was awarded $29.5 million (£21 million), despite MedicWest denying their medical staff were in the wrong.
“At least my daughter will be taken care of. I’m happy about that,” Jack Giacalone said. “All the anguish that we’ve been through for the last eight years, I’m not happy about. I just hope MedicWest changes their ways.
"The truth came out. Because what happened in that room was nothing. They let my daughter linger."
According to the parents, they will donate money to organisations that help those with brain injuries, and will then buy a new home which will facilitate better care for their daughter.
"I don't want her to go anywhere else. I love her, and she loves me," Deborah said. "It's very hard to take care of her, but I would not have it any other way."
LADbible reached out to MedicWest for comment.
Britt Jones