Unfortunately, far too many babies suffer needlessly from injuries sustained during the pre-natal time period, childbirth and delivery that are caused by negligence. These injuries range from mild scarring and bruising to severe life-altering diagnoses, depending on the affected area and the course of treatment. It is not at all uncommon for a simple careless mistake by a medical professional to result in harm to a child that can affect them for the rest of their lives. Many birth injuries could have been prevented by appropriate medical care and treatment for mothers during the prenatal period, as well as by immediate and necessary responses to any complications that may arise during childbirth and delivery. If this scenario seems familiar to you, contacting a Boston, MA birth injury lawyer is a necessity.
The plaintiff delivered her first child by cesarean section in 2004. Shortly after giving birth, she became pregnant again and visited Barbara Fikes-Maki, a midwife. Fikes-Maki told the mother that she should proceed with the birth vaginally rather than have another C-section. However, an hour after she went into labor, there were signs of complications.
According to Injury Lawyer News, the mother alleges that instead of being admitted to a labor and delivery ward, the midwife stopped monitoring the baby’s heart and told her to walk around the hospital for an hour. After two hours, the mother was finally admitted to the hospital and the fetal heart monitor showed repetitive late decelerations. The mother alleges that the hospital staff ignored this alert. After another hour, tests showed signs that the fetus was suffering from numerous episodes of oxygen deprivation, so the staff began to give an epidural. The mother finally underwent a C-section delivery. Upon delivery, the child was not breathing, had no pulse and was limp.
The baby boy spent nearly one month in the hospital where the child was finally diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalotpathy caused by intrapartum asphyxia. He had also been diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He has impaired motor skills, delayed cognitive limitations and recurring seizures.
The parents of the minor child have brought a lawsuit against the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in Tennessee. They allege that the nursing, midwifery, and obstetrical care they received was substandard and directly led to their son’s brain injury at birth. They are requesting damages for past and future medical and nursing care, special adaptive living expenses, special education costs, past and future mental anguish, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship for the minor.
Call our Massachusetts birth injury lawyer experts 24/7 at 617-787-3700 or email us at info@gilhoylaw.com.
