A Perfect Storm for Birth Injury — When Staff is Too Busy to Care
When a baby suffers brain damage during the process of labor and delivery, sometimes it is simply a tragic accident. Sometimes the damage could have been avoided. When that is the case, and medical professional negligence caused the damage, then the law holds those people responsible.
According to the latest “National Healthcare Quality Report,” injuries strike seven out of every 1,000 live births, with male babies consistently at higher risk.
In one recent case, a Kansas City family was awarded $4.72 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor and hospital personnel that attended the birth of their baby. In 2006, the mother went into labor and was admitted to the Salina Regional Health Center. The baby suffered permanent brain damage as a result of catastrophic umbilical cord compression. While this condition could not have been prevented, this one resulted in an injury because intervention was delayed.
According to case documentation, the baby’s fetal heart monitor sent distress signals throughout the monitoring period. Instead of responding to those signals, the nurses on duty turned the alarm off remotely.
When the doctor finally delivered the baby by emergency cesarean section, she was asphyxiating. She has permanent brain damage as a result of the negligence of the physician and nurses. Her parents will need to provide care for her for the rest of her life. She will never eat or walk or talk like a normal child, all because of the inattention of the caregivers.
In bringing a birth injury lawsuit against the physician and the health care center, the family is delivering a strong message: negligence and inattention have consequences, and those consequences can change lives.
At the law firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh and Jardine, P. C., we believe you have the right to hold a negligent person financially responsible for the birth injury they may have caused. Call us at 303-792-5595 or contact us online to discuss your lawsuit with a Colorado medical malpractice lawyer today!
