Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Claims Infant Sustained Permanent Disability Due To Missed Signs Of Feta
By: J. Hernandez | Posted: 18th June 2010
A planned vaginal childbirth for a pregnant woman who has previously had a C-section ought to consider that this puts the pregnant mother at risk of a ruptured uterus. When this happens the unborn child's precious oxygen , which is generally obtained through the placenta, can become restricted. When this continues for an extended amount of time the unborn baby will experience brain damage and be left with major lifelong disabilities.
Look at a recently published claim involving an expectant mother who was admitted to the hospital for a planned natural delivery of her child. She had a C-section in a prior pregnancy. Still, the nurse applied a drug generally employed to induce labor. The use of this drug , however, needs to be properly followed because it turn into a serious complication especially at greater dosages. The nurse did not convey to the physician that the expectant mother started having an "inappropriate contraction pattern." Instead, even though the contractions escalated to obviously dangerous levels, she continued to administer the drug.
The child was denied necessary oxygen for a period of approximately 18-20 minutes from what turned out to be a uterine rupture. The baby was in fetal distress while in this period - a situation that can be tracked by a machine which monitors the unborn baby's heart rate. He has severe cerebral palsy. He is unable to walk or to talk. He is unable to hold anything in his hands. He is unable to eat on his own and requires a feeding tube. He can, however, identify members of his family and is alert. Yet he will require 24/7 life assistance. The law firm that represented the child and his parents announced that at trial the jury delivered an award of $31,000,000 with included $26,000,000 to pay for the cost of the child's future medical care.
As this case shows nurses and hospital staff need to be able to realize if problems arise in a pregnancy, need to know and understand the consequences and side effects of the drugs they administer, and inform the physician of any symptoms that indicate there is a difficulty happening. Whether the result of a deficiency of training, inexperience, overwork, or communication breakdowns, a failure in any (or as in this case all) of these areas can lead to devastating injuries to the baby. If this takes place the family (both on their own behalf and on behalf of the baby) might be able to bring a lawsuit for malpractice. As this lawsuit furthermore shows - such lawsuits, due to the nature and extent of the injury to the child, can result in a significant recovery.
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Tags: heart rate, placenta, cerebral palsy, contractions, pregnant woman, unborn baby, unborn child, hospital staff, brain damage, dangerous levels, pregnant mother, c section, fetal distress