Doctor's Failure To Treat Infant For GBS Ends In $6.15 Million Settlement
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-10-19 15:43:36 | Word Count: 488
When a newborn with a GBS infection does not immediately receive antibiotics the consequences can be disastrous. Because of this it is important for doctors to consider GBS if a newborn displays symptoms of an infection and either rule it out with diagnostic testing or follow the treatment protocol. It is thus critical that physicians be able to quickly diagnose a baby with signs of a Group B Strep infection and administer antibiotics without delay.
Consider a reported lawsuit where antibiotics for Group B Strep were intravenously administered to an expectant mother during labor. This is standard protocol for women who were carriers of GBS during the pregnancy, a previous pregnancy, or if tested during weeks 35 through 37 of the current pregnancy. Nevertheless, even with this prophylactic use of antibiotics in the course of labor, it is still possible for the infant to acquire Group B Strep. The pregnant woman in this case brought her baby to a pediatrician six weeks after the child's birth. The physician found that the baby was febrile. However, the pediatrician did not look at any of the prenatal records and consequently did not figure out that the child had in the past been exposed to the bacteria.
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Not having seen the prenatal records the physician simply ordered testing so as to determine what was causing the infant's high fever. As the doctor waited for the results of the tests she ordered. She failed to, however, give antibiotics for a GBS infection. The baby developed meningitis. The baby also experienced a series of strokes. This left the baby with mental retardation and an untreatable seizure disorder .
The law firm that represented the mother and her baby got the physician to disclose that she would have given antibiotics immediately should have recognized that the infant had previous exposure to the Group B Strep bacteria. The case was reported as settled by the law firm for the amount of $6,150,000.
There is a key point that this case brings out. When a newborn displays signs that might be due to a GBS infection a physician ought to take fast action so as to prevent the infection from turning into sepsis, pneumonia or meningitis that may all end in disastrous outcomes. If the physician fails to consider a group b strep infection in the differential diagnosis and this leads to a delay in treatment with resulting tragic effects the physician may be liable under a malpractice claim to recuperate for the injuries suffered by the baby to protect the baby’s future.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting complex injury cases. You can learn more about group b strep and other birth injury cases such as erbs palsy injury lawsuits by visiting the websites
