An appeal from the Circuit Court of Franklin County, Mo., ended up in the Missouri Supreme Court on the issue of a disqualifying motion of a juror who was alleged to have been biased. This was a medical malpractice lawsuit against Mercy Hospitals. On March 13, 2013, the plaintiffs, Thaddeus…
Marla Dixon was admitted to a hospital in labor. Her obstetrician was Dr. Ata Atogho, a U.S. government employee. Dr. Atogho attended the delivery. After the heartrate monitor of the fetus showed decelerations and poor variability, a nurse discontinued Pitocin and called Dr. Atogho who arrived sixteen minutes later. Dr.…
Keyanna Vaughn, the mother of Marcus Crawford Jr., was first admitted to the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago for induction of labor on Aug. 11, 2009. This was done after test results were revealed during a prenatal visit. On Aug. 12, 2009, a hospital intern and senior resident attempted…
Kimberly Williams went into labor at 20 weeks’ gestation. Full-term gestation is generally 39 weeks. She was admitted to Sinai Grace Hospital where she delivered a stillborn boy at the facility’s labor and delivery unit. Later, Williams requested a repeat ultrasound. The treating obstetrician, Dr. Charlene Williams, declined to order…
Baby Doe, 6 months, had an appointment with a physician at the Roe Family Physician office where the baby’s parents were concerned over asymmetrical folds in the baby’s right thigh and buttocks. The family practice physician misdiagnosed Baby Doe and said that all was well. Six months later, another physician,…
The United States will pay $5 million in a settlement to resolve a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that physicians at a Florida naval hospital chose not to order a cesarean section despite signs and symptoms of fetal distress. As it turned out, the fetal distress caused the baby’s permanent brain…
Rebecca Kerrins, the mother of now 5-year-old Drew Kerrins, sued Palos Community Hospital, Dr. Thomas Myers and Renaissance Medical Group alleging that Dr. Myers chose not to make himself available to take care of Drew’s emergency soon after the baby was delivered. After a bench trial, a Cook County judge…
At the moment of birth, the most objective method of assessing a newborn’s metabolic condition is by analyzing umbilical cord blood gas. To be specific, arterial cord pH and base deficit can determine perinatal hypoxia and be an insight into causes of fetal distress. Umbilical cord blood gases are most…
A federal district court judge in Harrisburg, Penn., has entered a judgment for $42 million to the parents of a Pennsylvania boy left disabled because of brain injuries. In the federal lawsuit, it was alleged that the brain injury was caused by a doctor who used forceps during the delivery process…
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States maternal mortality ratio has increased between 1990 and 2013 by 136%. Between 2003 and 2013, there were 7,210 maternal deaths in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) database. The rise in maternal deaths is stunning compared…