subject: Child With Erb's Palsy Injury Notwithstanding Physician Knowing She Was Large Prior To Birth [print this page] Among the more prevalent types of birth injuries is an Erb's palsy injury which affects the child's shoulder and arm. This can be a significant injury that in the most severe instances may leave the child with poor use of the arm even subsequent to surgery. In a number of circumstances the injury is preventable. If this happens due to malpractice by a doctor while in the delivery procedure the parents might go after the physician with a lawsuit for themselves and their infant.
For instance, look at a reported case concerning a woman pregnant with her third baby. She was either borderline for or actually had gestational diabetes, excessive weight gain throughout the pregnancy and had previously given birth two large babies. Roughly 4 months into the pregnancy the expectant mother's doctor recorded that the unborn child was bigger than predicted by the gestational age and 3 months later she was borderline on her glucose test for gestational diabetes.
An ultrasound after that consultation revealed the baby's weight within the 90th percentile. At her final prenatal consultation the day before the doctors planned to induce her labor the doctor documented the height at forty three centimeters. The woman was forty weeks pregnant.
The following day the woman went to the hospital as scheduled. There, a second doctor took over her care. The hospital record recorded the expectant mother's earlier borderline sugar test and that she was at high risk given previous "large gestational age" babies. This doctor did not, nevertheless, test her sugar amount or make any effort to check the unborn child's weight prior to medically inducing her.
Approximately four hours subsequent to her admission towards the hospital the expectant mother's membranes spontaneously ruptured. When this happened a large quantity of meconium was noticed. This is often a sign that the baby is in trouble and generally requires an emergency C-section. Approximately 40 minutes after the physician performed a vaginal examination. The doctor recorded that the woman was four centimeters dilated. The physician placed a fetal scalp electrode which showed early decelerations. Despite the fact that it was not documented in the case report, particular kinds of decelerations might be an indication of fetal distress. A little more than one hour later the woman was fully dilated. The nurse's paperwork included the presence of shoulder dystocia, the delivery of the child's head, as well as the use of suprapubic pressure to facilitate delivery.
The newborn weighed ten pounds 10 ounces ounces at birth. She had a head circumference in the ninetieth percentile. She was diagnosed with Erb's palsy. When she got older her arm atrophied from her inability to use it. She has developmental delays and she has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The physicians failed to monitor the mother for gestational diabetes even though they had sufficient knowledge that the baby was large before birth. But, they did not plan on a C-section and did not try a standard procedure before applying traction to the child's head. These steps may have averted the baby's injury. The parents went forward with a malpractice case against the doctors and the law firm that represented the family revealed that the matter settled for $900,000.
by: Joseph Hernandez
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