In a significant birth trauma injury case, the mother was given Pitocin while in delivery at the hospital. Labor was more than 14 hours. It was managed by two resident physicians and an attending physician. There were signs of uterine hyperstimulation, which was alleged to have occurred hours before the delivery and followed by hours of obvious fetal distress.
According to the report on this case, a nurse told one of the residents that the fetal monitoring signs indicated fetal distress. However, even with this information, the physician allegedly concluded there was no fetal distress and instead increased the dose of Pitocin. The nurse reported the fetal monitoring signs of distress to her supervisor who then contacted a more senior resident and the attending physician who then stopped the administration of Pitocin.
The baby was later delivered with the assistance of forceps. At the baby’s delivery, the APGAR scores of 3 at 1 minute and 5 at 5 minutes were charted. The baby, who’s now nearing 7 years old, had suffered a brain injury from inadequate oxygen.
The mother of this injured child filed a lawsuit against three of the physicians who were on hand during labor and delivery and the hospital alleging that they chose not to properly respond to uterine hyperstimulation and the report of fetal distress. It was claimed that the hospital should have informed the nurse that she had the authority to discontinue the Pitocin even without a physician’s permission and order.
The three physicians and the hospital maintained that they were not negligent. They argued that the fetal distress occurred only at the end of the labor and was not the cause of the baby’s brain injury.
Before this case was settled, the family of the injured child presented experts for deposition in perinatology and neonatology.
A perinatologist is often referred to as a maternal-fetal medicine physician or it is a branch of medicine that focuses on managing health concerns of the mother and the baby prior to delivery. In short, a perinatologist is an obstetrical subspecialist concerned with the care of the mother and fetus who are at higher-than-normal risk for complications.
In this unfortunate case, the baby’s signs of fetal distress were not adequately acted upon, which would have saved the child from this serious brain damage suffered because of the negligence of the hospital and doctors. The case settled before trial.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling birth injury lawsuits, birth trauma injury cases, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy injury cases (injuries to the brain caused by lack of oxygen), brain injury cases and medical negligence cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Northbrook, Mount Prospect, Melrose Park, Lyons, Lemont, Cicero, Joliet, Waukegan, Lake Bluff, Franklin Park, Frankfort, Flossmoor, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Prospect Heights, Tinley Park, Western Springs, Westchester, Chicago (Gold Coast, Pulaski Park, Printer’s Row, Bridgeport, Beverly, Belmont Central, Back of the Yards, Archer Heights, Armour Square, Austin, Kenwood, Jefferson Park, Washington Park, Jackson Park, Stockyards, Brighton Park, Pilsen, Little Italy, Ukrainian Village, Goose Island, Old Town, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Ravenswood, Pulaski Park, Rogers Park, Andersonville, Uptown), Bedford Park and Justice, Ill.
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