Jury Awards $7.2 Million In Case On Behalf Of Child With Brain Damage
Any of several problems can severely restrict the amount of oxygen reaching an unborn baby, causing the baby to be in fetal distress. If the baby loses necessary oxygen for a prolonged time frame the baby can die or be left with lasting impairment such as brain damage, cerebral palsy, blindness, and seizure disorders. If an expectant mother is admitted for labor and delivery doctors and nurses need to carefully monitor her and her unborn baby and they are supposed to possess enough knowledge, training and experience required to identify and react to indications of fetal distress.
The following case is an example.
Look at a noted claim in which an expectant mother checked in at the hospital to give birth to her baby. Her physician, though, was not present yet. In the doctor's absence a nurse therefore examined the woman. In her record, the nurse described that the amniotic fluid contained meconium and that the fetal heart rate monitor showed abnormal readings. The readings were suspect for fetal distress. The nurse updated the doctor by phone but did nothing else. The physician, rather than heading to the hospital without delay, chose to wait and instructed the nurse to keep observing the patient. The nurse disconnected the fetal heart rate monitor, the one mechanism available to keep track of the baby