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.)
CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS
According to Plaintiff: Plaintiff’s mother, age 28, was planning a home birth for her first child and was seeing a Certified Nurse Midwife (“CNM”), who reported no problems with the pregnancy. At 32 weeks gestation, on December 27, 2009, plaintiff’s mother called the CNM to report that she felt a gush of fluid. The CNM told her to go to the nearest hospital, where she was seen by an obstetrician who diagnosed premature rupture of membranes and a transverse lie of the fetus on ultrasound, but, due to the gestational age of the fetus, he arranged to transfer the mother to defendant hospital, which had both a perinatology staff and a NICU.
Prior to transfer, the mother was started on antibiotics, magnesium sulfate, and terbutaline. The mother arrived at defendant hospital shortly after midnight on December 28, 2009, where she was found to be leaking clear fluid but having no contractions. She was then seen by a perinatologist at around 9:00 a.m., who ordered steroids and continued magnesium sulfate and antibiotics. Fetal monitoring was performed twice a day and showed a normal reactive strip. The mother was placed on bed rest with bathroom privileges. She was checked daily by a perinatologist, who confirmed a normal fetal monitor tracing on December 29, December 30, and December 31.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
On the morning of January 1, 2010, the nurse caring for the mother in the antenatal unit noted a temperature of 37.8 degrees Centigrade and notified the perinatologist. When he arrived, he performed another ultrasound and confirmed a transverse lie. The fetal monitor strip showed a tachycardia, and a diagnosis of chorioamnionitis was made.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.