subject: $900,000 Settlement In Lawsuit Alleging Physician's Mistake Led To Newborn's Erb's Palsy Injury [print this page] One of the more frequent types of birth injuries is an Erb's palsy injury which impacts the infant's shoulder and arm. This may be a severe injury that in the most extreme cases may leave the baby with inadequate use of the arm even after surgery. In many circumstances the injury is avoidable. If this happens as a result of an error by a physician while in the delivery procedure the parents may pursue a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and their child.
To illustrate, consider a reported claim involving a woman expecting her third child. The woman was either borderline for or actually had gestational diabetes, disproportionate weight gain during the pregnancy and had previously given birth 2 large babies. About 4 months into the pregnancy the woman's doctor recorded that the unborn child was larger than expected by the gestational age and three months later the pregnant woman was borderline on her blood sugar test for gestational diabetes. An ultrasound shortly after that visit revealed the baby's weight within the 90th percentile. At her final prenatal visit the day before the doctors planned to induce her labor the doctor noted the fundal height (a measurement of the uterus employed to assess fetal growth and development) at 43 centimeters. The expectant mother was forty weeks pregnant at the time.
The next day the pregnant woman reported to the hospital as scheduled. There, a different physician took over her care. The hospital record described her earlier borderline glucose test and also that she was at high risk given past "large gestational age" babies. This doctor failed to, nevertheless, test her sugar amount or make any effort to approximation the unborn child's weight prior to inducing her.
Approximately four hours after her admission for the hospital her membranes spontaneously ruptured. When this happened a significant quantity of meconium was seen. This is often an indication that the unborn child is in danger and frequently requires an emergency C-section. Roughly 40 minutes after the physician performed a vaginal examination. The physician noted that the woman was four centimeters dilated. The physician used a fetal scalp electrode which highlighted early decelerations. Although it was not noted in the case report, specific kinds of decelerations may be a sign of fetal distress. Just more than an hour afterwards she was fully dilated. The nurse's paperwork indicated the existence of shoulder dystocia, the delivery of the child's head, and also the application of suprapubic pressure to facilitate delivery.
The baby weighed 10 pounds 10 ounces at birth. The newborn had a head circumference in the ninetieth percentile. She was diagnosed with Erb's palsy. When she got older her arm atrophied due to her incapacity 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 information that the child was large prior to birth. Nevertheless, they did not plan on a C-section and failed to try a standard method before employing traction to the baby's head. These steps could have averted the baby's injury. The parents filed a medical malpractice claim against the doctors. The law firm that handled the case revealed that the case settled for $900,000.
by: Joseph Hernandez
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