The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a birth injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
FACTS/CONTENTIONS
According to Plaintiff: On August 21, 2007, plaintiff’s mother, age 27, entered defendant hospital for delivery of her first child. She had full prenatal care with no problems or complications and was at 36 weeks gestation. On the morning of admission she experienced some vaginal bleeding and pain and went to the Labor & Delivery unit where she was checked by an obstetrician, who did not find any bleeding but elected to admit her for further observation. Over the next several hours there was no further evidence of bleeding and no evidence of any problems on the fetal monitor tracing.
At 5:00 p.m., the on-call OB examined the mother and confirmed that she was 4 cm dilated and that the FMS was reactive. An IUPC was placed and was functioning. The OB left the room around 5:12 p.m. to go to the nurses’ station on the L&D unit, leaving the OB nurse (an employee of defendant nursing agency) with the patient. The OB nurse then left the room and walked by the nurses’ station, stating that she was going to the restroom. No one at the nurses’ station was able to recall that statement. The nurse later recorded that she returned to the room at 5:20 p.m. and observed scattered fetal heart tracing. She stopped Pitocin and attempted to obtain a better tracing. The nurse later noted that at 5:26 p.m., the charge nurse came into the room and asked if she needed help.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The charge nurse testified that she came into the room with the OB (who was standing with her at the nurses’ station) after noting deep variable decelerations on the monitor at the nurses’ station at 5:34 p.m. Although the nurse recorded that the OB placed a fetal scalp electrode at 5:26 p.m., the OB charted that she did not come into the room until 5:42 p.m., and the fetal monitor tracing showed the FSE placed after that time. After placement of the FSE the monitor showed a deceleration at 5:44 p.m. and another at 5:46 p.m. At 5:48 p.m., the OB ordered a crash C-section, and the mother was moved to the OR at 5:50 p.m. and arrived at 5:52 p.m. The anesthesiologist arrived in the OR at the same time and he observed a fetal heart rate of 160. He asked the OB about the method of anesthesia and started induction of general anesthesia at 5:58 p.m. The OB testified that she told the anesthesiologist as they entered the OR that she wanted the patient put to sleep.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.