A Penobscot County girl had to have her femur surgically shortened because Millinocket medical professionals failed to diagnose her condition for years, a lawsuit says.
Elizabeth Haven-Cirame is suing on behalf of her now-7-year-old daughter. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court alleges Millinocket Regional Hospital, Dr. Edward Dunstan and family nurse practitioner Melodie Hamilton committed medical malpractice.
The girl was born with developmental dysplasia of the hip, where her hip sockets failed to form properly, according to the lawsuit. The Bangor Daily News is not naming the girl because she is a minor.
She lived with dislocated hips for nearly the first five years of her life, the lawsuit said. It caused significant discomfort, impaired her ability to crawl, stand and walk normally, and created an “abnormal, painful gait.”
Most people who are born with the condition typically have it caught shortly after birth or at well-child visits, according to the Mayo Clinic. A short-term soft brace usually fixes the problem.
The years-long delay in diagnosing the girl means she has a permanent leg-length difference, an increased risk of bone tissue dying and early degenerative hip disease, according to the lawsuit. The earlier, less invasive methods would have avoided these outcomes if the hospital had acted sooner, according to the lawsuit.
Millinocket hospital and Haven-Cirame’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
The family is seeking unspecified damages, including for physical and emotional suffering and for the hospital to cover medical expenses.
For four and a half years, across multiple well-child visits, Hamilton and then Dunstan missed “repeated red flags,” the lawsuit said. There were “clear warning signs” of the condition that were repeatedly documented, but were misunderstood or unappreciated, according to the lawsuit.
The girl’s condition was only caught after she was seen by a pediatric orthopedist at another hospital in June 2023, according to the lawsuit.
At her 1-year well-child visit, she had not achieved milestones like standing steadily or taking independent steps, the lawsuit said. Haven-Cirame brought up concerns about how her daughter was crawling, but Hamilton dismissed it as a “kickstand crawl.”
At the girl’s 15-month visit, her mom again brought up concerns, this time about her gait. Hamilton said she would “grow out of it,” according to the lawsuit.
During her well-child visit at 30 months, her gross motor score was “markedly abnormal” during the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, the lawsuit said. That should have resulted in a prompt review to figure out what was wrong.
Hamilton did not act on those results, and did not discuss them with Haven-Cirame, in violation of national pediatric standards and the hospital’s policies, the lawsuit said.
Dr. Dunstan took over the girl’s care when she was 3, and he noted her “peculiar gait,” which was a classic sign of developmental dysplasia of the hip. He failed to order imaging or refer her for additional evaluation, the lawsuit said.
Nearly a year and a half later, she was diagnosed by a specialist at another hospital. Within four months, she had her first surgery on her left hip, the lawsuit said. It involved shortening her femur and cutting her pelvis bone.
She needed a second surgery on her left hip in January 2024, the lawsuit said. In early 2026 she had another procedure on that hip. She also had surgery on her right hip.
“As a direct result of Defendants’ failures, [the girl] has undergone multiple invasive surgeries and requires ongoing treatment,” the lawsuit said. “She experienced — and continues to experience significant pain and suffering, and faces lifelong physical impairment.”
