Malpractice Case Claims Child Sustained Disability As Nurse Did Not Tell Doctor Of Fetal Distress

When an expectant mother who has earlier delivered via a C-section gives birth to her new baby by a vaginal deliver there is a heightened chance that she will sustain a ruptured uterus during labor. An unborn baby receives oxygen through the placenta. A ruptured uterus might thus lead to a critical decline in the amount of oxygen that reaches the unborn child. When this happens for an extended span of time the unborn baby may sustain brain damage and be left with major irreversible disabilities.

Consider a documented lawsuit regarding an expectant mother who went to the hospital for a scheduled vaginal delivery of her child. She had a C-section in a prior pregnancy. Yet, the nurse administered a drug generally used to induce labor. The use of this medication , however, needs to be carefully followed seeing that it can result in hyperstimulation of the uterus and end up a serious problem especially at greater levels. The nurse failed to convey to the attending doctor that the woman developed an "inappropriate contraction pattern." Instead, even though the contractions increased to obviously dangerous levels, she continued to administer the drug.

The expectant mother sustained a uterine rupture. The unborn child was in fetal distress. The child was deprived of oxygen for 18-20 minutes as a consequence of which he sustained a brain injury. He has significant cerebral palsy. He cannot walk or talk. He is unable to hold objects in his hands. He is unable to eat without the use of 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 took this case reported that the claim went to trial and the jury returned a verdict of $31,000,000. This total included $26 Million to cover future medical care.

As this lawsuit shows nurses and hospital staff need to be able to recognize if problems happen during a pregnancy, need to know and understand the consequences and danger signs of the drugs they dispense, and alert the doctor about any signs that suggest there is a difficulty taking place. Whether due to 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 baby. When this happens the family may be able to bring a case for malpractice. As this lawsuit furthermore shows - such cases, due to the type and extent of the injury to the baby, can result in a significant recovery.