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November 24, 2010

Child with cerebral palsy receives $6.5 million birth injury settlement with Chicago hospital

Chicago birth injury lawyers John J. Perconti and Patricia Gifford of Levin & Perconti represented a ten year old girl who suffers from cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The young girl sustained a brain injury during complications that could have been prevented during her birth.

On November 24, 2010, Levin & Perconti announced that the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL and a physician who failed to perform a timely Cesarean section agreed to pay a $6.5 million present cash value settlement to the injured child and her family.

Doctors failed to diagnose cephalopelvic disproportion in the pregnant mother. Physicians further failed to order an emergency Cesarean section even though they noted erratic decelerations in the fetus, a common warning sign for fetal hypoxia. Once an emergency Cesarean section was ordered, mistakes made by the anesthesiologist resulted in the nursing staff having to hold the mother down while the incision was made during the surgery.

Fortunately, both the newborn and mother survived the procedure. However, the newborn suffered from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which caused the child’s cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The family plans to use the settlement to provide their daughter with the appropriate care she currently needs and the ongoing care she will have to have throughout her adult life.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay, Cerebral Palsy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), Illinois Birth Injury, Lack of Oxygen to Fetus, Verdicts and Settlements

November 22, 2010

New whole-body cooling blanket saves newborn from birth-related brain injuries.

A newborn in California recently received the benefits of an innovative therapy that cools the baby’s body to decrease brain injury. This therapy helps minimize birth-related brain injuries that can cause cerebral palsy, neurological problems and other cognitive delays.

The California newborn had been cut off from oxygen and was beginning to swell after his birth. There is only a small window of opportunity in which the therapy can be beneficiation. Doctors had around six hours to drop the baby’s body temperature to 92.3 degrees, about 6 degrees below normal.

To read more about this newborn’s success with this ground-breaking therapy, please visit The Fresno Bee.

Lower body temperatures have long been known to minimize brain injury. However, doctors have debated about the best method in which to lower a baby’s temperature. Since speed is a critical factor in the therapy’s success, the hospital used a whole-body cooling blanket designed for newborns deprived of oxygen. The blanket system is designed to quickly induce whole-body hypothermia.

A lack of oxygen to the brain causes hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. When this occurs the brain reacts to the lack of oxygen by swelling. The swelling then cuts off blood supply to the brain. As the body tries to protect the brain other organs such as the kidneys and liver can be damaged as well.

It is important to quickly cool the body in order to prevent damage because the swelling in the brain occurs over several hours before the damage becomes permanent. Lowering the body’s temperature lowers the body’s metabolism, hearth rate, and blood pressure. As a result, the swelling in the brain is reduced.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Prevention, Cerebral Palsy, Current Issues, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), Lack of Oxygen to Fetus, Reports & Studies

November 20, 2010

Jury awards $2.3 M verdict for arm injuries suffered at birth.

A jury awarded $2.3 million in damages to a Virginia boy who suffered arm injuries at birth. As a result, the 4 year old child’s right arm is permanently disabled. The child’s mother was also awarded an additional $60,000 to reimburse her for all the medical expenses related to her son’s injuries. The lawsuit involved a nurse-midwife and the medical practice she was associated with.

To read more about this birth injury settlement follow the link to HamptonRoads.com

Midwifery offers care to childbearing women during their pregnancy, labor and birth, and during the postpartum period. They can also care for the newborn through to six weeks of age, including assisting the mother with breastfeeding. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives attended 7.4% of U.S. births in 2006.

This health care profession came under fire in 2003 when a Sonoma County infant died after birth due to the alleged actions of a midwife. The mother, while under the guidance of a midwife, labored too long in her home causing life ending complications. Although state medical boards typically govern and regulate midwifery licenses, the family filed suit against the midwife for gross negligence. In that case, the midwife was already under investigation with the medical board for incompetence regarding two other home births.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Trial, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Verdicts and Settlements

November 17, 2010

Chicago Family Awarded $3 Million Following Birth Malpractice

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month on the end of a Chicago birth injury trial. The medical malpractice lawsuit stemmed from treatment by a doctor connected to the Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group.

The malpractice occurred during the delivery of a Pilsen woman’s son in 2002. Going into the delivery, it was known that the baby was going to be large. Pre-natal care had revealed clearly that the child was of considerable size, which often presents particularly unique problems for a successful birth. The boy was ultimately born weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces. However even though the medical staff knew that the child was large, they failed to inform the mother of the risks associated with this particularly birth. Specifically, they never warned her of the special risks posed by a vaginal birth—as opposed to a Cesarean Section.

The risks ultimately materialized during delivery. The infant boy’s shoulder got stuck on the mother’s pelvic bone. That problem was magnified when the doctor leading the birth pulled too hard on the boy’s head and neck. The force applied caused injury to his arm. Now, eight years later, the boy still does not have full function of his arm.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay

November 10, 2010

Mother files wrongful death lawsuit over preventable pregnancy complication

A mother in Harris County, Texas has filed suit against the medical center that was caring for her pregnant daughter. In the lawsuit, the mother alleges that her daughter and her unborn grandbaby died as a result of the medical center’s negligence.

The pregnant woman was first sent to the medical center when she was about 37 weeks pregnant. Her Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN) recommended that she go to the medical center because her blood pressure was high. The pregnant woman was soon discharged even though her blood pressure remained high.

A few days later, the pregnant woman returned to the medical center. This time, the pregnant woman was complaining of shortness of breath. She was immediately sent to the emergency room but she remained there for almost three hours without treatment. While she waited in the emergency room, she suffered a life ending cardiac arrest. Although doctors did remove the baby by cesarean-section, the baby did not survive. The baby had suffered from severe lack of oxygen before birth.

It was later discovered that the pregnant woman’s cardio-respiratory arrest was caused by pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). The lawsuit filed against the medical center further alleges that the emergency room physician failed to properly diagnosis the pregnant woman for this condition.

To read more about this story, please visit the Houston Chronicle.

Although the exact cause of pregnancy-induced hypertension is unknown, there are several risk factors. According to the American Pregnancy Association, first-time mothers, women carrying multiple babies, teenage mothers, and women who have high blood pressure prior to pregnancy are most at risk.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Prevention, Death During Child Birth, Lack of Oxygen to Fetus, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Wrongful Death

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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