Newborn Death Due To Group B Streptococcus Infection Because Physician Failed to Administer Antibiotics
If a baby contracts an infection a result of the group b strep bacteria there is a very substantial risk to the infant's condition that results. It can also result in the death of the newborn. Infants who live may develop life-long disabilities particularly cerebral palsy. The concern is that there is a substantial probability that the infection might turn septic, bring on pneumonia, or even develop into meningitis - each one of which pose a truly perilous condition for a newborn. Since bacteria might be transmitted by a mother who carried the bacteria regardless if the mother was not symptomatic to her infant during labor and delivery most physicians concur that appropriate antibiotics need to be applied in the course of labor if certain conditions are met.
There are thus some situations which physicians factor in when determining whether there is an increased risk that the expectant mother will transmit the bacteria to her baby. The mother was Group B Strep positive in a previous pregnancy. Standard screening between weeks thirty-five and thirty-seven of the pregnancy revealed the existence of the bacteria. One of the factors that put a woman at risk for Group B Streptococcus is when her membranes rupture in excess of eighteen hours ahead of labor. In the event that a doctor is conscious of a known history or the existence of any of the risk factors but does not provide antibiotics and the infant later acquires a group b strep infection and experiences significant injury because of this, the doctor might be liable for not meeting the standard of care.
In this case a nineteen year old pregnant woman went to the hospital before full term. While at the hospital her child was delivered. It was known by the physician who delivered the baby that the mother had experienced a rupture of her membranes over 18 hours before the commencement of labor. The doctor, nevertheless, failed to provide appropriate antibiotics for group b strep. Following delivery, the child was not breathing. The medical staff at the hospital eventually realized that this was due to a group b strep infection. Regardless of attempts at treatment by the hospital staff the infant passed away two days after being born as a result of complications from the infection. The law firm that took this matter on for the baby