The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
July 10, 1992
Page F21.

[Conveyed to NOCIRC courtesy of Fred Hamilton, NMB, South Carolina]

BOY IN COMA MOST OF HIS 6 YEARS DIES

The Associated Press

Spartanburg, South Carolina

A boy who was in a coma for more than six years while a legal battle raged
around him has died.  But the legal fighting will continue.

Allen A. Ervin was born in July 1985 and had been on life support since
December 1985, when his brain was damaged from oxygen deprivation during
circumcision.

He died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, three weeks
before his 7th birthday.  Doctors said he suddenly suffered severe heart
problems, his mother, Stacey Stroble, said.

The Anesthesiologists who attended to Allen during the circumcision settled
the case for $435,000 and agreed to lifetime payment of his medical bills.

Spartanburg Country Probate Court officials are overseeing the estate.
 Lawyer Charles Rice, who is in charge of investing the money, says a judge
will have to decide who gets it.

It angers Stroble, 21, who has two young daughters, that she may have to hire
another attorney to file a claim for her son's estate.

"The money's not my concern right now,"  she said.  "But I have to pay for
the funeral.  I don't think that's right."

Allen's medical problems began when oxygen was pushed into his stomach,
instead of his lungs, court records showed.  Anesthesiologists inserted a
tube into the baby's stomach to relieve the pressure but administered three
times the recommended dosage of a drug to slow his abnormally high heart
rate, stopping it.

He was revived 30 minutes later but never regained consciousness, although
Stroble said Allen's eyes and head often followed the voices of people
visiting him in his hospital room.

The legal problems began before that, however.

Stroble was 14 years old and unmarried when she gave birth to Allen.  At the
request of her mother, Maggie Ervin, a Family Court judge in October 1985
placed both mother and child in the custody of the South Carolina Department
of Social Services.

The custody disputes and guardianship fights went through seven state and
federal courts, including the state Supreme Court and the U.S. 4th Circuit
Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Back To: Boy Dies