Any of a large number of complications can cause an unborn baby to have his or her oxygen supply jeopardized. When this happens the baby is said to be in fetal distress. If the baby loses necessary oxygen for a prolonged period of time the baby can die or be left with permanent disabilities including but not limited to brain damage, cerebral palsy, blindness, and seizure disorders. When a pregnant woman is admitted for labor and delivery doctors and nurses are expected to carefully monitor her and her unborn baby. They are also expected to have the knowledge and training necessary to recognize and react to signs of fetal distress. But consider the following case:
A pregnant woman was admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery. The doctor had not yet arrived at the hospital and so the woman was examined by a nurse who noticed meconium in the amniotic fluid and abnormal readings from the fetal heart rate monitor. The heart rate tracings suggested that the unborn baby was in fetal distress. The nurse informed the doctor. Having received the information the doctor nonetheless decided to delay going to the hospital. He did not have another doctor take over and instead left the nurse remove the fetal heart rate monitor, the one critical technology that could provide information about the status of the baby.
It took the doctor nearly seven hours to show up at the hospital. The doctor finally saw the woman only to pass her treatment over to a covering doctor. Once that doctor was informed of the situation the doctor performed an emergency C-section. The damage had already been done. The baby suffered brain damage. The baby was left with lifelong disabilities including the retardation of mental and physical abilities, the need for
a feeding tube, and a seizure disorder. The law firm that handled this case reported that they took the case to trial and achieved a $7.2 Million verdict, interest included.
As this case illustrates there are times when a doctors and nurses do not act with the urgency commensurate with the risk that certain labor complications present. What happened in the case discussed above is beyond comprehension. First, after being informed of multiple abnormal signs by the nurse the doctor not only decided to delay going to the hospital but actually instructed the nurse to remove the monitor - the one source of critical information about the health of the unborn baby. It is almost as if the doctor did not want to be informed of complications.
The nurse could have notified another doctor of the situation. Instead, the nurse deferred to the doctor's rank and authority. After finally showing up at the hospital and seeing the woman the doctor passes her care to another doctor. Unfortunately, even though by all indications the other doctor acted appropriately, it was too late to prevent irreversible damage to the baby.
The unborn baby is at risk of severe and permanent injuries when doctors and nurses do not take immediate action in the face of signs of fetal distress. The case also shows that when this happens these doctors and nurses can be held accountable for not taking appropriate actions and thus not meeting the applicable standard of care. This is the level of professional responsibility to which we hold doctors and nurses. When they fall short and their actions or lack of actions result in harm to a baby they can be subject to a medical malpractice claim. Given the severity of the injury to the baby the recovery from such claims can be substantial.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://cdnimages.articlefriendly.net/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
