Articles Posted in Obstetrician Negligence

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A Cook County jury entered its verdict in favor of the defendant obstetrician, Dr. Cynthia Page, following a trial claiming that the birth of Anthony Ruiz was delayed causing him a lifetime of cognitive deficits.

The family of Anthony Ruiz, a minor, claimed in their Cook County, Ill., lawsuit that a delay in performing a Cesarean section surgery at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital on Sept. 16, 2010 was the cause of the baby’s cognitive impairments, including a lower IQ, diminished executive function and impaired fine motor skills.

The case centered on a nurse who telephoned the defendant obstetrician Dr. Page at 12:31 a.m. to tell her about the baby’s distress. Dr. Page arrived at the hospital at 12:48 a.m. and a C-section was ordered at 12:56 a.m. The newborn was delivered at 1:20 a.m.

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In a recent report it was stated that cerebral palsy affects nearly 10,000 newborns every year. The statistics are more troubling in that research shows that 25-35% of all cerebral palsy cases could have been prevented. It has been reported that medical errors during or after the delivery of a child was the cause of cerebral palsy in 35-45% of deliveries.

The diagnosis of cerebral palsy occurs usually by 18 months of age. One in 323 children has been identified with cerebral palsy. The malady is more common in boys than in girls. In addition, cerebral palsy is found more often in children of African-American descent than in Caucasian, Asian or Hispanic children.

The medical costs of caring for and treating a child with cerebral palsy are enormous. According to the study, the lifetime cost of care for an individual with cerebral palsy is almost $1 million.

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Most recently, I have heard from mothers who have tragically lost a full-term baby for inexplicable reasons. In one particular case, the mother called me to talk about why her full-term child died in utero. She said that all of her prenatal care was uneventful. In fact, just 3 days before her due date, her doctor and staff did a final checkup on both her and her unborn child. Both were well.

This mother was 38 years old and had been trying for a full-term delivery with her husband for 7 years. She had been pregnant only once before but miscarried early in that pregnancy. Other than her somewhat advanced years, she had no known risks.

Yet when this mother called her doctor to say that the baby was not active, now just 2 days before her due date, the doctor discounted the alarm and told the mother that maybe she was in the early stages of labor. Instead, the mother’s blood pressure had actually become dangerously elevated,  which put the baby at risk.

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