Statistically, 27 out of every 1000 babies suffer a birth injury. There are many complications that can take place during the pregnancy as well as during labor and delivery. Some of these complications can threaten the health and even the life of the baby and the mother. One such complication is a placental abruption. A placental abruption occurs when the placenta which encases the unborn baby detaches from the mother’s uterus. When this happens the blood vessels in the area are torn apart. The resulting loss of blood causes a drop in the oxygen supply reaching the unborn baby. A lack of necessary levels of oxygen for an extended period of time can cause brain damage and can even result in a stillbirth

While many birth injuries are unavoidable, a number of them are the result of medical malpractice. In one reported case after was a delay in diagnosing a placental abruption and the baby was born with drain damage, a known risk of a placental abruption. As the report indicates there was a settlement between the defendants and the parents resolving a claim filed by the parents claiming medical malpractice.

A young nineteen year old woman pregnant with her first baby in the early stages of labor was admitted to the hospital. The expectant mother complained of constant abdominal pain. Following an examination, the obstetrical nurse noted constant uterine contractions and a hard abdomen. Not long after she commenced having heavy vaginal bleeding. Instead of immediately notifying a doctor, the nurse showed the mother where the linen closet was in her room so that she could replace the towels herself.

The young pregnant woman then began having extreme pain after being at the hospital four to five hours. The nurse still did not notify a doctor. Instead the nurse administered pain medication. Within five minutes, the fetal heart rate monitor showed that the baby’s heart rate went flat. The nurse, however, saw this as simply a reaction to the pain medication. The nurse again did not notify a doctor and did not make any attempt to awaken the baby to make sure hypoxia was not involved. She finally contacted a doctor approximately fifty minutes after the baby’s heart rate went flat.

The physician arrived, found the presence of meconium, and then noticed that the heart rate monitor showed progressive deep decelerations. The attending obstetrician then also arrived and decided to perform an emergency C-section. No anesthesiologist was available at the time and so the physician performed the C-section using only local anesthesia. The obstetrician found that the young pregnant woman had experienced a placental abruption. The physician observed signs of resulting neurological damage to the baby later confirmed by radiographic testing.

The child was later diagnosed with developmental and mental retardation. Given his injuries the child needs occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy, and will permanently require life care. The child is expected to live into his 40’s. The law firm that represented the family reported that they were able to accomplish a settlement in the amount of ,100,000. Of that amount, ,000 was for the parents. The remainder, part of which was paid as a cash payment and the rest as a structured settlement, was for the child.

Analysis:

In this case the nurse was left to monitor the expectant mother’s condition without a doctor’s supervision. Common signs of a placental abruption in a late-term pregnancy are severe abdominal or lower back pain and persistent vaginal bleeding. The nurse missed or ignored both. In addition the nurse missed the significance of the tracings from the fetal heart rate monitor going flat. The first doctor did nothing after observing the presence of meconium and the progressive deep decelerations of the baby’s heart rate – two signs that the unborn baby was in severe fetal distress. It took the arrival of the attending obstetrician for the decision to perform an emergency C-section to be made. By the time the baby was born brain damage had already occurred. The lack of responsiveness to signs of complications formed the basis of the parent’s claim of malpractice. The result: a settlement for $1.1 million.

  

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