A Marysville father is suing Nationwide Children's Hospital and one of their physicians, accusing the doctor of causing the premature death of his 17-month-old daughter last year after she was hospitalized for breathing issues.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 25 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, accuses Nationwide Children's Hospital and Dr. Michael Chua of inappropriately discharging Brandon Dille's daughter, Clarajane, after the family went to the emergency room in November 2025 because the toddler had a rough and barky cough as well as difficulty breathing. Hours after being discharged, Clarajane died in her sleep at her home, according to the complaint.
"This is a death that was completely preventable," attorney John Markus, who filed the suit
on behalf of Dille, said in a prepared statement. "Had Dr. Chua followed hospital protocol, Clarajane would still be alive today. Clarajane's parents are devastated by the loss of their little girl, and their family feels incomplete now that she's gone."
Nationwide Children's Hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Dispatch.
The lawsuit makes three claims: negligence by Nationwide Children's Hospital and Chua, failure to obtain informed consent from Dille, and wrongful death.
According to the complaint, Clarajane developed a barky cough and showed signs of difficulty breathing on Nov. 3, 2025. Her mother, who is not named in the complaint, took her to a pediatrician, where she was suspected of having croup, a common viral infection that affects the upper airway and causes swelling near the voice box and windpipe, according to the complaint. The pediatrician gave Clarajane some steroids and said that Clarajane should be taken to an emergency room to receive breathing treatment.
The family went to an emergency room, but the wait was too long, so they took Clarajane to the Nationwide Children's Close to Home Urgent Care located in Marysville. Clarajane received a breathing treatment there and had improved symptoms, according to the complaint. The physician told the family to go to the emergency room if the symptoms returned or got worse, the complaint states.
Clarajane's symptoms worsened later that evening, so Dille took her to the Nationwide Children's Emergency Department in Lewis Center, according to the complaint. There, Clarajane was evaluated by Chua, who noted that the toddler still had trouble breathing, the complaint states. She was given another breathing treatment and later diagnosed with croup.
According to the complaint, Chua allegedly told Dille that he could either take Clarajane home or have her admitted to the emergency room for continued observation. Dille asked Chua what he would recommend, and Chua responded that Clarajane would be more comfortable at home, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Chua told Dille, "She has mild croup and nasal congestion, you will probably have a rough night, but I assure you she will not stop breathing."
Clarajane was later discharged and taken home. The next morning at around 5:39 a.m. Nov. 4, 2025, Dille checked on Clarajane and discovered that she was not breathing, according to the complaint. She was pronounced dead at 6:35 a.m.
The complaint states that Nationwide Children's Hospital's own policy was violated because patients are supposed to be observed for at least two hours after receiving breathing treatment before determining if they're eligible to be discharged.
“By filing this lawsuit, we hope to honor our baby girl’s memory and make sure that no other family has to go through what we have had to go through,” Dille said in the prepared statement.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Marysville man sues Nationwide Children's Hospital over toddler's death
