A recent birth injury lawsuit against a doctor has ended in a $30 million jury verdict. According to the evidence presented at trial, the mother went to a medical center when she was 28 weeks pregnant because she believed that her baby's movements had slowed. The mother was admitted to the hospital for monitoring. The first day, the baby was fine, however on the second day tests showed that the baby's heart rate had dropped. Staff from the medical center contacted the doctor on call at 5:30 p.m., but the physician made the decision not to come in.
The family asserts that had the doctor performed an emergency C-section at that time, harm to the child could have been lessened or eliminated. Instead, the procedure was delayed until 9:20 p.m., following an 8-minute period when the child's heart rate had dropped extremely low. When she was born, the child had to be resuscitated. Due to a lack of oxygen and blood flow, the child suffered a severe brain injury.
In the complaint, the family asserts that the physicians failed to appreciate the ongoing test results, which indicated that the baby was likely suffering from fetal distress and the need for an emergency C-section. As the result of the doctor's failures, according to the lawsuit, the baby suffered permanent brain damage.
In this instance, the doctor was held liable for failing to act in accordance with the expected standard of care.
For more information, or if you believe that your child may have suffered a birth injury as the result of medical negligence, please contact the experienced California birth injury lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.