Ms. Doe, 37, suffered from gestational diabetes. During Doe’s pregnancy, she experienced cramping and met with her obstetrician, Dr. Roe, who was covering for Ms. Doe’s regular obstetrician.
While at her appointment with Dr. Roe, an ultrasound revealed positive fetal breathing, tone and movement. However, a few days later, Ms. Doe returned to Dr. Roe complaining of decreased fetal movement. Dr. Roe performed a non-stress test and a biophysical profile and diagnosed a lack of fetal breathing. The obstetrician sent Ms. Doe immediately to the hospital.
Dr. Roe called a perinatologist and requested that Ms. Doe be evaluated when she arrived at the hospital. Dr. Roe also notified the hospital labor and delivery nurse that Ms. Doe would be arriving for further evaluation after a non-reactive stress test.
When Ms. Doe arrived at the hospital, she was attached to a fetal monitor. The monitor showed a minimal to absent variability and late decelerations.
About one hour later, the perinatologist performed an ultrasound and reviewed the fetal monitor tracings, concluding that they were ominous. After a biophysical profile, which was scored as 2 out of 10, Ms. Doe had an emergency Caesarean section surgery delivering the baby.
Ms. Doe delivered her daughter more than an hour after the perinatologist first arrived at her bedside. The baby was born in a severely depressed condition with Apgar scores of 1 at 1 minute at 5 and 5 minutes. Ms. Doe’s daughter, who is now ten years old, suffers from daily seizures, cognitive speech and motor impairments as well as cerebral palsy.
Ms. Doe brought a lawsuit against Dr. Roe, the perinatologist and the hospital claiming failure to perform a timely Caesarean section. The lawsuit charged that Dr. Roe should have planned for an immediate Caesarean section when Ms. Doe arrived at the hospital. The lawsuit also charged that the perinatologist chose not to timely notify the hospital’s obstetrics team that an urgent Caesarean section was needed and that the nurses chose not to prepare Ms. Doe for the surgery.
It was further claimed that because of these omissions by the doctors and hospital staff that the baby suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.
The defendants maintained that Ms. Doe’s condition did not constitute an obstetrical emergency and further that the baby’s brain injury occurred a few days before her delivery.
Before trial, the parties settled for $9.98 million paid by the hospital, the perinatologist and Dr. Roe.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling birth injury cases for families whose child has been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 37 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Oak Lawn, Melrose Park, Bensenville, Clarendon Hills, Palos Hills, Worth, Blue Island, Harvey, Dolton, Chicago (Hegewisch), Chicago (Hyde Park), Chicago (Wicker Park), Chicago (Old Town), Franklin Park, Elmwood Park, Brookfield and Chicago (Lincoln Park), Ill.
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