Settlement For $457,000 When Doctor Did Not Administer Antibiotics For Group B Strep And Baby Dies
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-08-17 13:38:02 | Word Count: 533
Group b streptococcus presents significant concerns when it impacts a baby.An infant with a a group b streptococcus infection is at serious jeopardy of severe complications and even death. The infection could abruptly develop into pneumonia, sepsis (an infection that advances all through the body), and meningitis. As the bacteria can be transferred by a mother who carried the bacteria whether or not she was not symptomatic to her baby during labor and delivery generally doctors recognize that suitable antibiotics ought to be administered during labor if certain conditions are met.
There are thus several situations which doctors take into account in figuring out if there is an increased risk that the woman will transmit the bacteria to her infant. The mother's medical history includes the detection of the GBS bacteria during a prior pregnancy. Routine screening between weeks 35 and 37 of the pregnancy disclosed the existence of the bacteria. Antibiotics are also appropriate when the expectant mother has an unknown medical history but she exhibits any of the known risk factors for example menbrane rupture having occured in excess of 18 hours earlier. When a doctor is aware of a known history or the existence of any of the risk factors and does not provide antibiotics and the infant afterwards develops a group b streptococcus infection and endures substantial injury because of this, the physician might be liable for not meeting the standard of care.
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Let's review a documented lawsuit where a baby was born in the hospital after the baby's woman, age nineteen, went in before reaching full term in the pregnancy. The woman's membranes had ruptured over 18ghteen hours before she went into labor. The physician attending to her had this information this. Despite having been given this important piece of information the physician failed to administer antibiotics to guard from the possible transmission of the group b strep bacteria to the infant. Once birth her child was depressed and needed resuscitation. The medical staff at the hospital ultimately realized that this was due to a group b streptococcus infection. Even with efforts at treatment by the hospital staff the baby died two days after birth due to complications from the infection. The law firm that represented the baby's mother was able to report that the case went to trial and the jury returned a verdict in amount of $457,000.
This case demonstrates that a group b strep infection can be deadly in an infant. The need for antibiotics in instances where the pregnant woman has one or more risk factors is thus generally stressed by physicians. Not administering antibiotics in the course of labor in a claim where there is a risk that the mother could transmit the group b strep bacteria to her infant might amount to medical negligence.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting birth injury cases. You can learn more about group b strep and other birth injury cases such as erbs palsy by visiting the websites
