Medical Malpractice Case Alleging Baby Injured When Nurse Failed to Detect Placental Abruption Settled For $1.1 Million
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-09-02 11:06:03 | Word Count: 632
A placental abruption is a complication wherein the placenta that holds the baby detaches from the expectant mother's uterus. This is a dangerous complication which can put the unborn baby at risk of severe damage and death if a doctor or nurse does not act right away. Common signs of placental abruption are consistent abdominal or back pain, vaginal bleeding, and continuous contractions. Physicians thus usually recognize that if a placental abruption happens quick action, like an emergency C-section, may need to be taken to maintain the health of the baby.
An expectant mother arrived at the hospital in beginning stages of labor. She, just ninetten years old, was admitted to the hospital complaining of persistent abdominal pain. The nurse who examined her documented that the woman's abdomen was hard and that she was experiencing contant uterine contrations.
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A short while later the young pregnant woman started having heavy vaginal bleeding that.required continuous changing of towels to soak up the blood. Instead of alerting a hospital obstetrician the obstetrics nurse actually but the burden on the mother get additional towels from the linen closet in the room and continue swapping them herself.
In addition to the vaginal bleeding and contraction pattern (which are known symptoms of a placental abruption) the expectant mother began having extreme pain (a known symptom of a placental abruption) after being at the hospital for approximately four to five hours.Again, the obstetrics nurse did not notify a doctor. Rather the nurse administered pain medication. Five minutes later, the baby's fetal heart monitor was flat. Yet, the nurse still did not notify a physician.The nurse merely saw this development not as a ominous sign that the baby was in a highly dangerous condition but as a reaction to the pain medication administered to the expectant mother. The nurse failed to contact a doctor until fifty minutes after the fetal monitor went flat.
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After arriving the physician found the presence of meconium and also found that the heart rate monitor revealed progressive deep decelerations. The attending obstetrician then also came and decided to perform an emergency C-section. During the C-section procedure the physician confirmed that the young pregnant woman had suffered a placental abruption. The physician observed signs of ensuing neurological damage to the baby later established by radiographic testing. The child was later diagnosed with developmental and mental retardation.
In the ensuing lawsuit, the plaintiffs took the position that the failure on the part of the obstetrics nurse to recognize that the sings were the result of a placental abruption, her lack of an effort to rule out an insufficent supply of oxygen to the baby, and her delay in notifying a doctor of the complication, led to avoidable serious injuries to the baby. In an attempt to lessen the amount of the settlement, the defense argued that the child was only expected to live to be approximately 10 years old and would not benefit from the therapy so the cost of the therapy should not be part of the settlement. Given his injuries the child requires occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy, and will permanently need life care. The law firm representing the parents and the child, however, were able to successfully settle the case for $1,100,000, with $60,000 for the parents and the remainder to the child.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice and birth injury cases. You can learn more about placental abruption and other birth injury matters including erbs palsy and group b streptococcus matters visit the websites
