Fetal Distress Brings About Baby's Passing While Doctor Does Not Make It To Hospital

Various difficulties can happen during a pregnancy

. One problem that is very significant and needs fast action is fetal distress. Fetal distress commonly comes about if the unborn child's oxygen supply is restricted. Fetal distress is spotted by monitoring the unborn baby's heart rate. Under certain situations, like when the heart rate drops under a specified level, rapid measures such as an emergency C-section is required. Below we consider the issue of liability in a reported claim involving a delay of approximately two hours in reacting to signs of fetal distress. We also take into account the ensuing damages and the amount of the settlement.

In this case a pregnant woman who had fallen was being taken to a hospital to check that there was no injury to her unborn child. An ultrasound was performed and showed no injury to the baby. The expectant mother was still anxious that something was not right and requested a different test. Because the hospital was not equipped with a fetal heart rate monitor she was going to be transported to a different hospital. Her obstetrician was advised that she was being transported and agreed to go to the second hospital. Upon her arrival at the second hospital a fetal heart rate monitor was attached to the woman. The labor and delivery nurse at this hospital read the strip as non-reassuring and showing that the unborn child was experiencing fetal distress. Knowing that the patient's obstetrician had indicated he would see his patient there, the nurse determined that the proper plan would be to wait for the physician to turn up, although she saw that the fetal distress was getting worse.

In the following 2 hours the nurse kept putting off notifying another doctor that the baby was in fetal distress. She kept waiting until the monitor showed that the baby's heart rate had precipitously dropped to dangerously low levels. At that point the nurse finally notified another obstetrician at the hospital of the circumstances. The moment he was told about the circumstances this obstetrician did not wait to perform an emergency C-section. On doing the procedure the physician learned that the baby had been deprived of oxygen (which accounted for the drop in the heart rate) because of a placental abruption.The patient's physician went home rather than to the hospital as he had indicated he would - simply abandoning the woman and her baby and making him a defendant in the malpractice claim. Given that fetal distress requires quick measures the nurse became the second defendant in the medical malpractice claim by the parents because of her decision to wait for the patient's obstetrician to arrive as opposed to notifying the in-house physician until 2 hours later.

At birth the baby was non-responsive. Despite the fact that the medical staff attempted resuscitative measures they could not revive the baby. The law firm that handled the lawsuit was able to report that they accomplished a settlement in the amount of $750,000 on behalf of the child's mother and father. This case shows both (1) a doctor's duty to follow up on the care of his patient after agreeing to do so and (2) a nurse's duty to make sure that a physician is notified instantly in the event that signs of fetal distress are noticed.

Fetal Distress Brings About Baby's Passing While Doctor Does Not Make It To Hospital

By: J. Hernandez

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