$7.2 Million Verdict For Child's Brain Damage Injury Resulting From Unattended Fetal Distress

Fetal distress is a term that indicates that an unborn baby is in a compromised situation. A commonly occurring type of fetal distress occurs when the unborn baby's supply of oxygen has been reduced to levels that jeopardize the baby's health. This is referred to as hypoxia, a condition that can lead to brain damage and even death if the situation is not immediately diagnosed and either reversed or the baby is delivered (typically through an emergency C-section). A possible sign of fetal distress is the presence of meconium (dark green fecal matter that normally does not appear until the baby is delivered) in the amniotic fluid. Another possible sign is a significant drop in the fetal heart rate (to below healthy levels). The fetal heart rate can be tracked with a machine called a fetal heart rate monitor.

Consider a reported case in which an expectant mother checked in at the hospital for the scheduled delivery her baby but her physician was still not there. A nurse thus examined the expectant mother. In her entry, the nurse described that the amniotic fluid contained meconium and that the fetal heart rate monitor indicated abnormal readings. The readings were suspicious for fetal distress. The nurse updated the physician by phone but did nothing else. The physician, instead of immediately heading into the hospital, chose to wait and have the nurse continue to monitor the expectant mother. The nurse disconnected the fetal heart rate monitor, the one mechanism available to keep track of the baby's condition.

In all, the physician did not make it to the hospital for almost 7 hours. When the physician examined the expectant mother the physician simply turned her care over to another physician to cover. Upon learning of the nurse's observations that physician performed an emergency C-section. Unfortunately, the baby had gone through an extended period of oxygen deprivation and had suffered brain damage by the time the covering physician performed the C-section. As a result of the brain damage, the child will suffer permanent disabilities that include both mental as well as physical retardation, the use of a feeding tube, and a seizure disorder. The law firm that represented the family was able to report that at trial the jury returned a verdict of $7,200,000 (including interest).

This case is one of many examples in which a physician or nurse did not recognize or react to an urgent complication. Given information of facts suggestive of a baby in fetal distress the expectant mother's physician should either have immediately gone to the hospital or passed the patient's care to a covering physician. The physician should also hav instructed the nurse to carefully monitor the fetal heart rate until a physician could arrive to evaluate the situation.

The nurse should have either insisted that the expectant mother's physician return to the hospital right away or should have notified another physician of the situation. Instead, the nurse deferred to the physician's rank and authority. Then, inexplicably, after finally showing up at the hospital and seeing the woman the physician passes her care to another physician. Unfortunately, even though by all indications the other physician acted immediately, it was too late to prevent irreversible damage to the baby.

The unborn baby is at risk of severe and permanent injuries when doctors and nurses do not take immediate action in the face of signs of fetal distress. The case also shows that when this happens these physicians and nurses can be held accountable for not taking appropriate actions and thus not meeting the applicable standard of care. This is the level of professional responsibility to which we hold doctors and nurses. When they fall short and their actions or lack of actions result in harm to a baby they can be subject to a medical malpractice claim. Given the severity of the injury to the baby the recovery from such claims can be substantial.