The parents of a child born with cerebral palsy have sued a hospital and several doctors alleging medical malpractice related to the birth of their child. The parents allege that their child suffers from permanent birth injuries due to complications during the birth process. Their complaint claims that at seven months pregnant, the mother awoke in the middle of the night with vaginal bleeding and severe abdominal pain. After being forced to fill out paperwork at the hospital, the fetus’s dropping heart rate was diagnosed. Doctors ordered a cesarean section for the woman nearly an hour and a half after the initial symptoms of fetal distress. The parents claim that the lack of oxygen sustained by their son caused him to be born with cerebral palsy and other permanent birth defects.
The hospital and doctors are accused of failing to have proper policies in place to address fetal emergencies and not adequately staffing the obstetrics unit. The complaint also accuses the defendants of failing to timely admit the patient, failing to timely deliver the oxygen-deprived baby and several other failures to maintain the required standard of care. The parents are seeking an unspecified amount of damages for their son’s birth injuries, including damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses and loss of physical capacity.
Due to the devastating nature of birth injuries, Oregon parents need to educate themselves about these types of injuries, as well as their legal rights. As in the above case, if your child has been injured due to a negligent doctor’s actions or inadction during the birth process, you may be entitled to file a civil claim and recover damages. The recovery of compensation in a medical malpractice claim depends on several factors, but it is worth discovering whether you may be entitled to relief if you are in this situation.
Source: The Louisiana Record, “Tulane-Lakeside Hospital and doctors blamed for child’s cerebral palsy,” Kyle Barnett, Jan. 9, 2013