$1.1 Million Claim Due To Brain To Baby After Placental Abruption Was Not Noted By Nurse

Some problems that may manifest in a pregnancy present considerable health threats of harm to the unborn baby

. A placental abruption comes about if the placenta detaches prematurely from the mother's uterus. It is often associated with a number of symptoms - Among the symptoms to note are persistent vaginal bleeding, extreme abdominal or back pain, and continuous contractions. A failure to recognize that an expectant mother has sustained a placental abruption and not jeaperdizing the well being of the baby performing an emergency C-section could lead to the severe damage or even the death of the unborn child.

As an example, look at what happened in a reported case involving a young pregnant woman. She was a 19 year old pregnant with her first baby and was admitted to the hospital presenting with continuous abdominal pain. The nurse who examined her documented that the woman's abdomen was hard and that she was experiencing constant uterine contractions.

A short time later, expectant mother also began having significant vaginal bleeding. Rather of alerting a hospital obstetrician the obstetrics nurse actually but the burden on the mother get additional towels from the linen closet in the room and continue changing them herself.

Some four to five hours following her admission to the hospital, she started having severe pain. Now there were two symptoms that are highly suggestive of a placental abruption.Again, the obstetrics nurse failed to notify a doctor. Rather the nurse administered pain medication. Five minutes later, the baby's fetal heart monitor was flat. Yet, the nurse still did not notify a doctor.The nurse merely interpreted this development not as a ominous sign that the baby was in a highly dangerous condition but as a reaction to the pain medication administered to the expectant mother. The nurse failed to contact a doctor until fifty minutes after the fetal monitor went flat.

Once a doctor was notified the doctor found meconium and noted that the baby's heart rate showed progressive deep decelerations. The attending obstetrician then performed an emergency C-section. There was no anesthesiologist available and so the doctor performed the C-section using only local anesthesia. During the procedure, the doctor saw that placental abruption had occurred. The baby showed signs of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy - (damage caused to the central nervous system due to a lack of oxygen) which testing later confirmed. The child was later diagnosed with developmental and mental retardation.

In the lawsuit that followed, the plaintiffs took the position that the failure on the part of the obstetrics nurse to recognize that the sings were the result of a placental abruption, her failure to attempt to rule out an insufficient supply of oxygen to the baby, and her delay in notifying a physician of the complication, resulted in avoidable severe harm to the baby. In an attempt to lessen the amount of the settlement, the defense argued that the child was only expected to live to be approximately 10 years old and would not benefit from the therapy so the cost of the therapy should not be part of the settlement. The child needs occupations therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. The law firm that represented the family announced that they were able to reach a settlement in the amount of $1,100,000. Of that amount, $60,000 was for the parents. The remainder, partly paid as a cash payment and the rest as a structured settlement, was for the child.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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