subject: Parents and Physicians Reach Settlement Of $900,000 Over Erb's Palsy Injury To Baby [print this page] Parents and Physicians Reach Settlement Of $900,000 Over Erb's Palsy Injury To Baby
One of the more frequent kinds of birth injuries is an Erb's palsy injury which relates to the infant's shoulder and arm. This may be a serious injury that in the most serious instances may leave the baby with inadequate use of the arm even following surgery. In many situations the injury is avoidable. When this happens as a consequence of malpractice by a physician in the course of the delivery procedure the parents may be able to go after the physician with a lawsuit for themselves and their infant.
For instance, contemplate a reported lawsuit concerning a woman pregnant with her third child. The expectant mother was either borderline for or in fact had gestational diabetes, abnormal weight gain in the course of the pregnancy and had earlier given birth two large babies. Approximately four months into the pregnancy her physician recorded that the baby was larger than expected by the gestational age and three months later she was borderline on her blood sugar test for gestational diabetes.
An ultrasound done a brief time after that visit placed the baby's weight in the 90th percentile. During the expectant mother's final prenatal consultation the day prior to the scheduled delivery the physician noted the fundal height (a measurement of the uterus employed to determine fetal growth and development) at 43 centimeters. She was forty weeks pregnant at the time.
The following day the expectant mother went to the hospital as scheduled. Once she was admitted, a second physician took over her care. The hospital record documented her prior borderline sugar test and also that she was at high risk because of earlier "large gestational age" babies. This physician did not, nevertheless, test her glucose level or try to determine the unborn child's weight before medically inducing her.
Almost four hours subsequent to her admission to the hospital the woman's membranes spontaneously ruptured. Once this happened a substantial amount of meconium was observed. This is usually a sign that the baby is in difficulty and typically demands an emergency C-section. Roughly 40 minutes after the doctor conducted a vaginal examination. The physician documented that the woman was four centimeters dilated. The doctor positioned a fetal scalp electrode which highlighted early decelerations. Although it was not noted in the publication of the lawsuit, particular types of decelerations might be an indication of fetal distress. Just more than one hour later she was fully dilated. The nurse's paperwork included the occurrence of shoulder dystocia, the delivery of the infant's head, and also the application of suprapubic pressure to aid the delivery.
The baby was 10 pounds 10 ounces at birth. She had a head circumference in the ninetieth percentile. She had an Erb's palsy injury. When she grew her arm atrophied from her incapacity to use it. She has developmental delays and she has cerebral palsy.
The doctors failed to monitor the mother for gestational diabetes even though they had sufficient knowledge that the baby was large preceding birth. Still, they failed to plan on a Caesarean and did not try a standard method before applying traction to the child's head. These steps could have avoided the baby's injury. The parents initiated a medical malpractice claim against the doctors and the law firm that represented the family documented that the claim settled for $900,000.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
