Lawsuit Claiming Baby Harmed When Nurse Did Not Diagnose Placental Abruption Settles For $1,100,000

A placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates from the mother's uterus. Among the most common symptoms of a placental abruption are persistent abdominal or back pain, vaginal bleeding, and continuous contractions. This is a dangerous complication which can place the unborn baby at risk of serious injury and death. Doctors thus generally agree that when a placental abruption occurs immediate action, such as an emergency C-section, may need to be taken to protect the health of the baby.

In one reported case the expectant mother was only 19 years old and it was her first pregnancy. She was admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery. At admission she complained of continuous abdominal pain to the medical staff. The nurse who examined her documented that her abdomen was hard and that she was experiencing constant uterine contractions.

Not long after, the young pregnant woman began having severe vaginal bleeding. The bleeding was so severe it required continuous changing of towels to soak up the blood. Rather than alerting a hospital obstetrician the obstetrics nurse actually instructed the mother get additional towels from the linen closet in the room and keep replacing them herself.

Approximately four or five hours after being admitted to the hospital, the mother was in severe pain and the nurse gave her a single dose of demerol and phenergan. Five minutes later, the baby's fetal heart monitor was flat. Again, the obstetrics nurse failed to notify a doctor. The nurse merely interpreted this development not as an ominous sign that the baby was in a highly dangerous condition but as a reaction to the pain medication given to the expectant mother. The nurse thus not only failed to notify a doctor, the nurse did not make any attempt to awaken the baby in order to make sure hypoxia was not involved. The nurse finally contacted a doctor approximately fifty minutes after the baby's heart rate went flat.

When a doctor did arrive, meconium was found and progressive deep decelerations of the baby's heart rate were noted. The attending obstetrician then performed an emergency C-section. There was no anesthesiologist available at the time and so the doctor performed the C-section using only local anesthesia. The baby exhibited signs of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (damage caused to the central nervous system due to a lack of oxygen) which testing later confirmed. As the child developed the child was diagnosed with mental and developmental retardation.

The parents filed a lawsuit claiming that the nurse's failure to recognize the symptoms of placental abruption and failure to notify a doctor that the baby's fetal heart monitor had gone flat until fifty minutes later caused an otherwise healthy baby to suffer brain damage. Given his injuries the child requires occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy, and will permanently need life care. He has a life expectancy into the 40's. The child needs occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. The law firm that handled the case on behalf of the parents and the child was able to report that they achieved a settlement of $1,100,000, of which $60,000 was for the parents, and the remainder was for the child. Part of the settlement was structured so that the child would have a steady income stream into the future.