Medical Malpractice Case Leads To $31,000,000 Recovery For Harm Suffered By Newborn
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-10-16 21:56:03 | Word Count: 509
Should a pregnant woman who has earlier delivered via a C-section gives birth to another child via a vaginal deliver there is a heightened risk that she will experience a ruptured uterus during labor. In these cases the unborn child's essential oxygen supply, which is normally received by the placenta, can become restricted. In case this continues for a prolonged interval of time the unborn child may sustain brain damage and be left with severe irreversible disabilities.
Examine a recently reported case regarding an expectant mother who reported to the hospital for a planned natural delivery of her baby. She had a C-section in a previous pregnancy. But, the nurse gave her a drug frequently employed to induce labor. The application of this drug , however, needs to be properly followed since it can result in overstimulation of the uterus and end up a major complication particularly at greater dosages. The nurse failed to notify the attending doctor that the expectant mother started having an "inappropriate contraction pattern." Rather, as the contractions increased to obviously unsafe levels, the nurse kept using additional amounts the drug.
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The expectant mother experienced a uterine rupture. The unborn baby was in fetal distress. The baby was deprived of oxygen for eighteen to twenty minutes as a consequence of which he suffered a brain injury. He has severe cerebral palsy. He cannot walk or talk. He cannot hold objects in his hands. He is unable to eat on his own and requires a feeding tube. He can, however, identify members of his family and is alert. But he will require full-time life assistance. The law firm that handled this matter described that the lawsuit went to trial and the jury came back with a verdict of $31 Million. This total included $26 Million for the cost of future medical care.
As the claim discussed above illustrates nurses and hospital staff have a duty to figure out if problems arise during a pregnancy. They also need to know and understand the consequences and side effects of the medications they give, and let the physician in charge know about any symptoms that suggest there is a problem taking place. Whether caused by a deficiency of training, inexperience, overwork, or communication breakdowns, a failure in any (or as in this case all) of these areas can lead to devastating injuries to the child. When this happens the family (both on their own behalf and on behalf of the baby) may be able to bring a claim for malpractice. As this case furthermore illustrates - such cases, because of the nature and degree of the injury to the baby, can lead to a considerable recovery.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn more about fetal distress and erbs palsy visit the website
