$4,000,000 Lawsuit On Behalf Of Child With Cerebral Palsy Due To Mistake By Doctors And Nurses

During labor, pregnant women are normally attached to a fetal heart rate monitor. The information from the monitor is used to track whether the baby is doing well or is in a compromised situation. Should such signs arise measures need to be taken immediately to counteract the situation or to deliver the infant. Any delay can lead to severe and permanent harm to the infant. The failure of doctors or nurses to take timely and proper action might constitute a failure to meet the standard of care. In the event this does end in injury to the child, these doctors and nurses might be liable for medical malpractice.

Consider a documented case concerning what had been an uneventful pregnancy, the pregnant woman was thirteen days past her due date. She went to the hospital for the planned delivery of her baby. Following her admission to the hospital, one of the doctors ruptured her membranes in an attempt to augment her labor. An entry in her chart documented that there was “scant to no amniotic fluid” noted. While she was being followed the fetal heart rate monitor started to show non-reassuring tracings. Nevertheless, 6 hours after that medication was administered in order to promote her contractions. Despite the fact that this drug has a possible side effect producing hyperstimulation, the use of the drug was consistently increased over the course of the following few hours.

During this period, the unborn baby’s heart rate revealed marked late decelerations, an increasing baseline, in addition to intervals of decreasing variability the drug did nothing to further her labor. On more than one occasion, two nurses attempted to deal with the decelerations yet neither nurse did anything about the continued use of the drug. Roughly seven hours after the first time the medication was used, the fetal heart rate began progressively rising, a signal that the unborn child was attempting to compensate for a decrease in the supply of oxygen.

Nearly four hours after the signs of fetal distress appeared the obstetrician decided to try a vacuum extraction. This doctor made multiple attempts (nine in total) at vacuum extraction. As this doctor tried the vacuum extraction, the fetal heart rate readings worsened to the point suspicious for terminal bradycardia. Here the obstetrician at last ordered an emergency C-section. This physician delivered the baby a bit more than 1 hour after beginning the use of vacuum extraction.

The records noted the presence of thick meconium. The baby was not breathing, had no muscle tone, no reflexes, and no heart rate. Resuscitation efforts were able to revive the child. The newborn was transferred to NICU unit where the baby began having seizures. The baby was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy caused by extented oxygen deprivation. The law firm that handled the resulting lawsuit published that the case settled for $4.0 million.

By: J. Hernandez

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Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting birth injury medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about fetal distress and other types of birth injuries including group b strep matters by visiting the website