Evidence That Once Doctor Missed Signs Of Umbilical Cord Compression Child Ended Up With Cerebral Palsy Led Jury To Award Family $15,800,000
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-07-13 20:34:22 | Word Count: 621
Pregnancy brings with it the possibility of problems several of which can, if not detected and treated immediately, result in considerable harm to the unborn child and the mother. An umbilical cord compression is a particularly considerable risk to the unborn child. This problem arises when undue pressure is placed on the umbilical cord. This problem generally arises in one of two scenarios. The first takes place if there is a compression of the cord if it slips into the birth canal as the baby is descending. The second happens when the cord becomes wrapped around the baby's neck. The reason this complication is so serious for the baby is that it ends up depriving the baby of a vital supply of blood and oxygen.
If doctors or nurses find a considerable slowing down of the baby's heart rate they should consider a cord compression as a potential reason. This is specially true if the heart rate slows downs in waves or episodes - a pattern that is identified as decelerations. Because an unborn baby cannot survive long without suffering a severe brain injury or even dying, the necessary supply of oxygen needs to be restored right away. Sometimes it is possible to fix the complication by just repositioning the pregnant woman to reduce pressure on the cord, or by giving her oxygen and fluids If the pressure cannot be sufficiently reduced, however, an emergency C-section may be necessary.
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By not timely detecting a cord compression and taking the proper action immediately a doctor or nurse may lead to a delay that brings about major harm or even the death of the baby. When this happens that physician or nurse may be liable in a lawsuit for medical malpractice or wrongful death. In one documented case, an expectant mother, at full term, showed up at the hospital for the planned delivery of her baby. The staff gave her Pitocin to induce labor. Following the administration of the drug, the fetal heart rate monitor revealed multiple umbilical cord compressions as decelerations of the unborn baby's heart rate. The staff repositioned the progrant woman following which the baby's heart rate went back to normal.
At one point, the mother required the use of the bathroom at which point the obstetrics resident disconnected her from the fetal heart rate monitor. The monitor remained disconnected for an entire elevent minutes. During this period, the cord was compressed and the baby's supply of oxygen was severely restricted. Because of that, the baby suffered from asphyxia which left the baby with mental retardation and with cerebral palsy.
The law firm which helped the family introduced evidence at trial that, given the history of decelerations, disconnecting the fetal heart rate monitor for those critical eleven minutes failed to meet the acceptable standard of care. Essentially, it came with too high a risk that there would be further umbilical cord compressions that would not be detected and therefore would not, and indeed did not, result in the application of additional procedures like additional position changes and, if necessary, an emergency C-section that could have prevented the child from suffering brain damage. The law firm documented that the jury returned a verdict of $15.8 million for the family.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice and birth injury cases. To learn more about birth injury cases including those involving erbs palsy matters visit the website
