Mueller

BACKGROUND

The facts that accompany this appeal are largely undis- puted. They are as follows.

On August 12, 2002, Corissa Mueller’s five-week-old infant, Taige Mueller, developed a fever. Throughout the course of the evening, Corissa Mueller consulted with the child’s naturopathic physician, Dr. Karen Erickson, via tele- 10798 MUELLER v. ROGERS phone. Mother and physician grew concerned when the child’s fever rose from roughly 99 degrees at 8:00 p.m. to 100.8 degrees by around 9:00 p.m. In light of Taige’s age, elevated temperature, and poor appetite, Dr. Erickson recom- mended that Corissa Mueller have the infant examined to rule out such conditions as an ear infection, a urinary tract infec- tion, or possibly meningitis. Dr. Erickson, who had no hospi- tal privileges, informed Corissa Mueller that, if she took Taige to an emergency room, doctors would likely want to conduct a chest x-ray, urinalysis, and blood tests as well as “automatically” begin an antibiotic regimen and perform a spinal tap, which is a diagnostic test used to determine if a patient has meningitis.

Corissa Mueller discussed the possibility of a spinal tap and the administration of…