Nurse Does Not Recognize Signs Of Placental Abruption And Parents File Lawsuit

Every day pregnant women put themselves and their unborn child in the hands of a doctor who will help them through childbirth

. It might frequently take quite a bit of time after the patient is admitted to the hospital before the child is born. Throughout some of this time doctors often rely on the nurses and staff to check the woman's progress and to let them know about of any problems that might arise.

The physician continues to be accountable for supervising the nurses and staff. Further, the nurses and staff are accountable for having the knowledge, training and experience to identify signs of difficulties and for informing the physician if they do arise. However, nurses and staff on occasion fail to satisfy these demands.

Look at the reported claim alleging that an expectant mother at full term started experiencing contractions at at home and while heading to the local hospital she started having nonstop extreme pain. Upon reaching the hospital the woman complained to the admitting nurse that she was experiencing intense pain exclaiming that she thought she had a complication to the pregnancy. She was transferred to the Labor and Delivery unit but the nurse either did not register or ignored her complaints and failed to contact the doctor, who had not arrived at the hospital, to inform him.

Rather the nurse acted like this was a typical pregnancy. Valuable time passed until she even began following the fetal heart rate. As soon as she finally did figure out that the unborn child was enduring fetal distress. At this time the nurse did advise the obstetrician, who even now had not come to the hospital, by telephone. Another obstetrician on the unit took over and performed an emergency C-section. The severe pain had been a result of an abruption. It cased the unborn child to experience a reduced supply of oxygen producing severe brain injury. The newborn is permanently disabled and requires full time attention. The law firm that handled this lawsuit announced that they were able to obtain a $4,500,000 settlement $4.5 million from the hospital for the nursing staff's failure to recognize that the pregnant woman had suffered a placental abruption.

In this matter the patient basically flagged the nurse of her sensation that there was a problem with the pregnancy. At this point in the pregnancy extreme persistent abdominal pain can be caused by a placental abruption.

It is not known why the nurse did not connect these. Regardless if she dismissed the patient's complaints, did not hear them, did not have the necessary knowledge, training or experience to correctly understand the situation, or discounted the woman's complaints on the grounds that a placental abruption is regularly (though not every time) accompanied by visible vaginal bleeding, she overlooked symptoms of a serious complication.

The result, however, was a serious injury to the unborn baby producing a permanent disability. As a result of the damage from the nurse's mistake the law firm that handled this matter reported a settlement intended to ensure that the child has proper care for life.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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