Seven Hour Holdup By Medical Professionals In Reacting To Fetal Distress Leads to Child's Brain Injury
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-07-06 00:49:55 | Word Count: 751
Fetal distress is a phrase that indicates that an unborn baby is in a compromised situation. A commonly occurring type of fetal distress arises when the amount of oxygen that is reaching the baby has been reduced to levels that jeopardize the baby's health. This is known as hypoxia, a condition that can end in brain damage and even death if the problem is not diagnosed without delay and either reversed or the baby is delivered (commonly with an emergency C-section). One potential indicator of fetal distress is the existence of meconium (dark green fecal matter that typically does not appear until the baby is born) in the amniotic fluid. An additional potential sign is a significant drop in the fetal heart rate (to beneath healthy levels). A fetal heart rate monitor can be used to track the baby's heart rate.
The following case is an example.
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Have a look at a noted case in which an expectant mother checked in at the hospital to give birth to her baby. Her doctor, though, was not present yet. A nurse thus examined the woman. In her chart, the nurse listed that the amniotic fluid contained meconium and that the fetal heart rate monitor showed abnormal readings. The readings were suspicious for fetal distress. The nurse updated the doctor by phone but did nothing else. The doctor, rather than heading to the hospital immediately, chose to delay and instructed the nurse to keep observing the patient. The nurse disconnected the fetal heart rate monitor thereby discontinuing any further warnings of a problem.
It took the physician approximately seven hours to show up at the hospital. When the physician examined the woman the doctor simply turned her care over to another physician to cover. As soon as that doctor was informed of the situation the doctor performed an emergency C-section. The damage had already taken place. The baby now had brain damage. The child had experienced a lack of oxygen for too long and had sustained brain damage by the time the covering physician performed the C-section. As a result of the brain damage, the child will experience lifelong impairments that include both mental as well as physical retardation, the use of a feeding tube, and a seizure disorder. The law firm that represented the family was able to report after the trial the jury returned a verdict of $7,200,000 (including interest).
As this case shows there are times when doctors and nurses fail to act with the immediacy commensurate with the risk that some labor complications present. What happened in the claim discussed above is beyond comprehension. First, after being informed of multiple abnormal indications by the nurse the physician not only decided to wait before going to the hospital but in fact directed the nurse to remove the monitor - the one source of critical information about the health of the unborn baby. It is almost as if the physician did not want to be told of further indications of complications.
The nurse could have notified a different physician of the circumstances. Instead, the nurse deferred to the physician's rank and authority. After at last getting at the hospital and seeing the woman the physician turned over her care to a different doctor. However, regardless that by all indications the other physician acted properly, it was too late to avoid irreversible injury to the child.
An unborn baby is at risk of significant and permanent harm when physicians and nurses fail to take immediate action in the face of signs of fetal distress. The claim also shows that if this occurs these physicians and nurses may be held liable for not taking appropriate actions and therefore not meeting the applicable standard of care. This is the level of professional responsibility to which we hold doctors and nurses. As soon as they fall short and their actions or lack of actions result in an injury to a baby they might be liable under a medical malpractice claim. Due to the seriousness of the harm to the baby the compensation from such lawsuits can be significant.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting birth injury cases. To learn more about fetal distress and other birth injury matters including group b strep and
erbs palsy visit the websites
