Physician And Nurse Pay Out After Allowing Fetal Distress Deteriorate And Unborn Child Dies
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-09-13 12:28:31 | Word Count: 613
Several complications can arise during a pregnancy. A complication that is very dangerous and demands prompt action is fetal distress. Fetal distress commonly takes place when the unborn child's oxygen supply is somehow cut off. Fetal distress is observed by monitoring the unborn baby's heart rate. Under specific circumstances, like when the heart rate falls below a particular range, immediate action for instance an emergency C-section is needed. This article examines a reported medical malpractice claim where the delay lasted around 2 hours.
In this case an expectant mother who had fallen was being taken to a hospital to check that there was no injury to her unborn baby. An ultrasound was performed and revealed no injury to the baby. The expectant mother was still concerned that something was not right and asked for a different test. Since the hospital was not equipped with a fetal heart rate monitor she was going to be taken to a different hospital. Her obstetrician was informed that she was being transported and the obstetrician agreed to go to the second hospital.
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Once at the second hospital a fetal heart rate monitor was attached to the expectant mother. The labor and delivery nurse at this hospital read the strip as non-reassuring and indicating that the unborn child was experiencing fetal distress. Knowing that the patient's doctor had agreed to see his patient there, the nurse decided that the appropriate plan would be to wait for the physician to get there, even while she saw that the fetal distress was worsening.
Over the next two hours the nurse kept postponing notifying a different doctor that the unborn child was in fetal distress. It took the baby's heart rate reaching an alarmingly low level before the nurse at last advised one of the hospital doctors. Once informed of the situation this doctor did not hesitate to perform an emergency C-section. On doing the C-section the obstetrician discovered that the baby had been deprived of oxygen (which explained the fall in the heart rate) because of a placental abruption.
The obstetrician was told the patient was being transported to the second hospital and expected her obstetrician to meet her there. However, instead of head to the hospital as he stated he would do, the obstetrician went home. This would not have been a problem if the obstetrician had notified the nurse at the second hospital of this choice. As fetal distress demands immediate measures the labor and delivery nurse at the second hospital became the second defendant in the lawsuit by the mother and father due to her decision to wait for the expectant mother doctor to appear as opposed to calling the in-house doctor until 2 hours later.
At birth the infant was non-responsive. Even though the medical staff attempted resuscitative measures they could not revive the baby. The law firm that litigated the claim was able to state that they accomplished a settlement for $750,000 on behalf of the child's parents. This case shows both (1) a doctor's duty to follow up on the care of his patient after agreeing to do so and (2) a nurse's duty to make certain that a doctor is informed immediately when signs of fetal distress are detected.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting birth injury cases. You can learn more about fetal distress and other birth injury visit the website
