A 13-year-old girl suffered a major medical mishap at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland after surgical staff allegedly installed a heart valve upside down, and now her parents are suing for $17 million.
The operation took place on Aug. 14 2025, and her parents, Steven and Lori Stokes, describe a “harrowing” 18 days during which their daughter’s health declined as she was connected to life support machines, with the lawsuit claiming that OHSU informed them that her condition was due to the “shock” of the surgery she’d undergone.
Her health steadily worsened to the point of hospital staff discussing “end-of-life decision-making” with her parents, and asking them if they’d consider donating their daughter’s organs.
The family was allegedly told by staff that their daughter’s only chance of survival was an artificial or donor heart. Unfortunately, they’re said to have explained they were unable to perform that procedure at the hospital and warned the parents their daughter was so seriously ill she might not survive a transfer to a hospital that could.
“A miraculous recovery”
The parents then said they embarked on a “last-ditch plan” to move their daughter to Seattle Children’s Hospital where, as per the lawsuit, staff conducted surgeries to remove blood clots and fluid. As reported, they then ordered a scan of her heart, which revealed the cause behind her deterioration – her heart valve had been put in the wrong way round.
The Seattle Children’s Hospital surgeons corrected the valve, and the girl rapidly recovered. As the lawsuit claims: “(The girl’s) heart promptly began functioning sufficiently well that she was successfully removed from cardiac bypass and no longer required ECMO.” Over the following days, she stabilized and, after more than a month in critical condition, she returned home.
OHSU has been asked for comment but declined, citing the pending litigation as a reason. Oregon Live attempted to contact Dr Ashok Muralidaran, the surgeon named in the suit as leading the original surgery, but he also did not comment.
Robert Wagner, the attorney representing the Stokes family, described the teenage girl as making “a miraculous recovery” and is pressing for $17 million in damages.
That amount is to cover not only the girl’s medical care at both OSHU and Seattle Children’s Hospital, but also her “permanent physical and emotional injury” and the “emotional trauma” and “profound suffering” her parents experienced when they believed their daughter was close to death.
Published: Jun 9, 2026 08:48 am