Jury Awards Family Of Child With Brain Damage $31 Million In Medical Malpractice Case

Should an expectant mother who has earlier given birth via a C-section gives birth

to another child through natural childbirth there is a greater risk that she will experience a ruptured uterus during labor. An unborn child receives oxygen via the placenta. A ruptured uterus can thus cause a serious decline in the amount of oxygen that reaches the unborn baby. Depending on the extent and the length of time involved the baby might sustain a brain injury which manifests with severe cognitive and neurological difficulties. It is thus important when planning a vaginal delivery for an expectant mother with a prior C-section (known as a VBAC) to consider this possibility into consideration.

Consider a published claim involving an expectant mother who reported to the hospital for a scheduled vaginal delivery of her child. She had a C-section in a previous pregnancy. But, the nurse administered a drug commonly used to induce labor. The use of this medication , however, needs to be carefully supervised as it become a serious complication notably at greater levels. The nurse did not tell the doctor that the woman developed an "inappropriate contraction pattern." Instead, as the contractions increased to obviously dangerous levels, the nurse continued to administer the drug.

The child was deprived of essential oxygen for a period of roughly 18-20 minutes from what was later determined to be a uterine rupture. The baby was in fetal distress during this time a situation that can be tracked by a machine which monitors the unborn babys heart rate. The diagnosis: cerebral palsy.

Because of this, the baby will never be able to talk or to walk. He will never be able to hold anything in his hands. He will never be able to eat on his own. He will always need to be fed with a feeding tube. He will always need full-time life assistance. He does, though, recognize his family and he is aware. The law firm that represented the child and his parents published that at trial the jury delivered an award of $31,000,000 with included $26,000,000 to pay for the cost of the childs future medical care.

As the claim discussed above shows nurses and hospital staff need to be able to realize if complications occur during a pregnancy. They also need to know and understand the consequences and side effects of the medications they give, and let the doctor in charge know about any symptoms that suggest there is a difficulty developing. 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 child. When this occurs the family (both on their own behalf and on behalf of the baby) may be able to bring a case for malpractice. As this matter additionally shows, such cases, due to the type and degree of the injury to the baby, can lead to a substantial recovery.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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