$31,000,000 Jury Verdict After Nurse Misses Indications Of Fetal Distress

In case a pregnant woman who has previously delivered via a C-section gives birth to another baby by natural childbirth there is a heightened chance that she will suffer a ruptured uterus during labor. In these cases the unborn baby's essential oxygen supply, which is generally received via the placenta, can be cut off. If this happens for a prolonged amount of time the unborn child will suffer brain damage and be left with severe permanent disabilities.

Consider a recently published lawsuit about a pregnant woman who was admitted to the hospital for a planned vaginal delivery of her child. She underwent a C-section in a prior pregnancy but the nurse applied a drug frequently used to induce labor. The application of this medication needs to be carefully monitored seeing that it become a major problem especially at greater dosages. The nurse failed to tell the attending physician that the pregnant woman's contractions became irregular Instead, as the contractions escalated to clearly unsafe levels, she continued to give the woman the drug.

The expectant mother sustained a uterine rupture. The unborn baby was in fetal distress. The baby was deprived of oxygen for eighteen to twenty minutes as a consequence of which he sustained a brain injury. The diagnosis: cerebral palsy. Consequently, the child will never be able to talk or to walk. He will never be able to hold anything in his hands. He will never be able to eat on his own. He will always need to be fed with a feeding tube. He will always need full-time life assistance. He does, though, recognize his family and he is aware. The law firm that took this case reported that the lawsuit went to trial and the jury returned a verdict of $31 Million. This amount included $26,000,000 to cover future medical care.

As the claim discussed above demonstrates nurses and hospital staff need to recognize when problems happen during a pregnancy. They also need to know and understand the consequences and danger signs of the medications they administer, and let the physician in charge know of any symptoms that suggest there is a problem happening. Whether due to a deficiency of training, inexperience, overwork, or communication breakdowns, a failure in any (or as in this case all) of these areas can lead to devastating injuries to the child. When this happens the family (both on their own behalf and on behalf of the baby) may be able to bring a lawsuit for malpractice. As this case likewise illustrates, such lawsuits, due to the nature and extent of the injury to the baby, can result in a considerable recovery.

You can learn more about fetal distress and other birth injury cases including group b strep matters by visiting the website