Sacramento Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

Mother Claims Doctor’s Negligence Caused Twins to Be Born With Birth Injuries, Part 3 of 3

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:28:28 -0800

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a birth injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

The plaintiff's expert neonatologist claimed that holding off the delivery for 48 hours would have permitted the babies' lungs, gastrointestinal tract and brain to have matured sufficiently at 24 weeks gestation to avoid the subsequent damages the twins suffered, including brain damage to Ashley.

The defense's expert perinatologist opined that Perk's management of the two telephone calls he received from Teimen's nurse met the standard of care, and that there was no indication for Teimen to be kept an additional 12 hours of observation with the administration of continuous tocolytics, antibiotics and betamethazone.

Teimen admitted at trial that although she was still feeling contractions when she was initially discharged from the hospital, she did not tell the nurse. She also claimed that she did not read the written discharge instructions she signed, which required her to stay at the hospital if her contractions were persistent.

Ashley, age 6 at trial, has developmental/cognitive delays, for which she receives speech therapy and oral aversion therapy. Chris, 6, has matured into a nearly normal child.
The plaintiffs' claimed $5.72 million in medical costs to date, most of which was paid by private medical insurance.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Twins Born Prematurely Bring About Birth Injury Lawsuit, Part 2 of 3

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:27:27 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

At home, Teimen continued to have contractions but believed they were Braxton Hicks contractions. At 9:30 a.m., she went to the office of her perinatologist, Dr. Mann, for a scheduled visit. Mann determined that Teimen was in active labor, and tried to give tocolytics to stop the labor, but was unsuccessful. Mann then sent Teimen to XYZ Center, where Perk conducted the delivery.

At 1:40 p.m., Ashley was delivered vaginally, weighing 680 grams, and at 1:58 p.m., Chris was delivered by Cesarean section, weighing 650 grams. Both babies were immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit due to their prematurity and conditions of respiratory distress, gastric perforation, and exclusive to Ashley, heart defects and brain injury.

Ashley and Chris, minors through their guardian ad litem, Meed Teimen, and Cathy Teimen, sued Perk and XYZ Center for medical malpractice.
Prior to trial, the parents' causes of action were dropped from the case. Meed Teimen was dismissed via a defense motion for summary judgment, while Cathy Teimen voluntarily discontinued herself from the case. XYZ also reached a confidential settlement with the plaintiffs before trial.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Doctor Sued After Mother Claims Negligence On His Part To Delay Birth, Part 1 of 3

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:26:26 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: The twins were both transferred to ABC Childrens Hospital, where Ashley was a patient for six months and Chris for four months. They were thereafter seen by multiple specialists at Stanford Medical and in the Modesto area. Ashley had surgery at Stanford for perforation of her intestines, and also had a gastrostomy feeding tube placed.

Facts:
At approximately 1 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2005, plaintiff Cathy Teimen, 32, a nurse practitioner, was admitted to the labor and delivery unit at XYZ Center of Modesto. Teimen was 23 weeks pregnant with twins, who were conceived through artificial insemination. The night before, Teimen developed a pink discharge and experienced cramps and abdominal discomfort, leading her husband to take her to the hospital. Teimen is an insulin-dependent diabetic.

At the hospital, Teimen was evaluated by a labor and delivery nurse, who recorded contractions every three to four minutes apart. At 2:20 a.m., the nurse called Dr. Henry Perk, a local obstetrician who was one of two doctors following Teimen's pregnancy. Perk ordered Terbutaline be given to stop the contractions, and also that a fetal fibronectin test (FFT) be done on Teimen. The FFT was positive for the presence of fetal fibronectin, while the first doses of Terbutaline did not stop the contractions, all of which the nurse reported to Perk at 3:45 a.m. Perk ordered a different drug, Nifedipine, and said that Teimen could be released in 30 minutes if the contractions stopped and she was feeling better. After it appeared that the Nifedipine stopped the contractions, Teimen was discharged from the hospital at 4:30 a.m.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Family Claims Delayed C-section Caused Brain Injury In Infant

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:24:38 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS
According to Defendant: Plaintiffs Marvin Zeref, a minor by and through his guardian ad litem, Menwa Zeref, Menwa Zeref, and Elief Zeref IV alleged that delayed performance of a C-section resulted in permanent neurologic injuries due to prolonged fetal distress. Mrs. Zeref was admitted to the hospital in the late evening. She was seen by Nurse #1, who admitted her to Labor and Delivery, reviewed the fetal heart rate strip, and reported telephonically to the obstetrician on call for the patient's medical group. Nurse #2 took over the care at 3:00 a.m. She spoke to the obstetrician at about 3:30 a.m. The obstetrician ordered preparation for a C-section. The incision was not done until 4:39 a.m. The baby was born severely depressed, resuscitated, and transferred to the NICU.

Plaintiffs alleged that there was progressively worsening fetal distress caused by a worsening placental abruption. The delay in the C-section was due to nursing and “hospital” negligence in not summoning a back-up anesthesiologist, as the anesthesiologist assigned to Labor and Delivery was doing another C-section. The baby would have been normal if born 30 to 45 minutes sooner. The hospital violated the “30-minute rule” (decision to incision). The obstetrician, before she resolved her portion of the case, gave a deposition in which she was highly critical of the nurses. At trial, she was, again, very critical of the nurses. Plaintiffs' nursing expert provided a long list of criticisms of the nurses. Plaintiffs' “hospital administration expert” was permitted to testify over the objections of the hospital as he had no training or licensure as a nurse or a medical doctor.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Mother Sues Hospital After Baby Born With Birth Injury, Part 3 of 3

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:23:35 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Plaintiff alleged that defendant nurses were negligent for failing to monitor the fetus despite an order by the doctor and for allowing the patient to use the bathroom, which probably resulted in a cord prolapse.

In a confidential brief submitted for mediation, defendant claimed that plaintiff had a life expectancy of less than 10 years and CNA-level care would be appropriate, since the parents were not licensed and had provided excellent care for their child.

CLAIMED INJURIES
According to Plaintiff: Cerebral palsy, requiring assistance for all activities of daily living, including g-tube feeding.

CLAIMED DAMAGES
According to Plaintiff: $10,084 Medi-Cal lien; $8.2 to $12.4 million future medical care costs depending on life expectancy, which was disputed by defendant; $1.1 to $1.4 million future loss of earnings, disputed by defendant.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Infant Born With Cerebral Palsy in Sacramento Birth Injury Lawsuit, Part 2 of 3

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:22:36 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Although the fetal monitor did not show any distress at that time, at 10:52 a.m., the perinatologist ordered a delivery by C-section, which was then scheduled for noon. At 11:00 a.m., a labor and delivery nurse came in to take over care from the antenatal nurse since a C-section had been ordered. The nurse claimed that she did not know that the doctor had ordered continuous fetal monitoring and canceled the bathroom privileges when he ordered the C-section. The nurse started to prep the mother for surgery, but the mother had to go to the bathroom, so the nurse discontinued the monitor. She then went to get a surgical cap for the mother and was told that the surgery was being delayed because another patient arrived by ambulance with premature twins that needed an emergency C-section.

At 12:40 p.m., another L&D nurse came in to take over the care, and she was made aware that the fetus was not on the monitor. She attempted to find the fetal heart rate but could not find the heartbeat because of the transverse lie. At 12:59 p.m., the nurse called to the nurses' station for assistance. Two other L&D nurses came into the room at 1:01 p.m., but they also could not find the heartbeat on the monitor. At 1:05 p.m., the nurse called the doctor who was at the nurses' station.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Hospital’s Negligence Results in Sacramento Birth Injury, Part 1 of 3

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:21:16 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS
According to Plaintiff: Plaintiff's mother, age 28, was planning a home birth for her first child and was seeing a Certified Nurse Midwife (“CNM”), who reported no problems with the pregnancy. At 32 weeks gestation, on December 27, 2009, plaintiff's mother called the CNM to report that she felt a gush of fluid. The CNM told her to go to the nearest hospital, where she was seen by an obstetrician who diagnosed premature rupture of membranes and a transverse lie of the fetus on ultrasound, but, due to the gestational age of the fetus, he arranged to transfer the mother to defendant hospital, which had both a perinatology staff and a NICU.

Prior to transfer, the mother was started on antibiotics, magnesium sulfate, and terbutaline. The mother arrived at defendant hospital shortly after midnight on December 28, 2009, where she was found to be leaking clear fluid but having no contractions. She was then seen by a perinatologist at around 9:00 a.m., who ordered steroids and continued magnesium sulfate and antibiotics. Fetal monitoring was performed twice a day and showed a normal reactive strip. The mother was placed on bed rest with bathroom privileges. She was checked daily by a perinatologist, who confirmed a normal fetal monitor tracing on December 29, December 30, and December 31.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Woman Sues Hospital After Birth Injury Results in Cerebral Palsy, Part 3 of 3

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:14:31 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Plaintiff alleged that defendant anesthesia group failed to have a system in place for adequate response time to a request for a C-section that was called at 8:06 a.m. The perinatal hypoxia was caused by a small placenta as a result of the mother's SLE, which caused growth retardation in utero. As a result, the fetus was not able to tolerate labor due to placental insufficiency. Delivery prior to 8:00 a.m. would have resulted in a normal outcome.

The defense contended that all care was within the standard. The FMS abnormalities improved after 5:15 a.m. and did not require a call for a C-section before 8:00 a.m. After that, the fetal heart rate improved, and it was appropriate to use a re-bolused epidural for anesthesia. The small placenta likely caused micro-emboli to the baby's brain, with antibodies from the mother's SLE contributing to the brain injury. The severity of the baby's condition, including temperature instability, would give a life expectancy of less than eight additional years. Collateral sources would continue to pay for care in the future.

CLAIMED INJURIES
According to Plaintiff: Cerebral palsy; microcephaly.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Sacramento Lawsuit Brought After Late C-Section Causes Baby To Be Born with Cerebral Palsy, Part 2 of 3

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:16:34 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

At 7:23 a.m., another nurse assumed care, and she was concerned about the FMS, but did not do anything because the first nurse told her that the perinatologist had seen the patient and was not concerned about the FMS. At 8:00 a.m., the charge nurse looked at the FMS on the monitor in the nurse's station, and she called the perinatologist, who then responded to the patient's room at 8:06 a.m. Upon his review of the FMS, he called for a C-section ASAP. However, the in-house anesthesiologist had just started another C-section at 8:00 a.m. and was unavailable. The second-call anesthesiologist was then called at home, and he arrived at 8:34 a.m. The patient was then moved into the OR, but the heart rate was noted to be in the 140s, and so the epidural was re-bolused, with delivery of the minor plaintiff at 9:01 a.m. The Apgar scores were 1,3,4, with evidence of perinatal depression, but the cord blood gas showed a pH of 7.2. The baby's weight was 2,365 gm, which was SGA (small for gestational age). The minor plaintiff was subsequently diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and “total body” cerebral palsy. The baby was discharged home on March 15, 2006 and has had five subsequent hospitalizations for fever.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Late Cesarean Results in Sacramento Birth Injury, Part 1 of 3

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:15:45 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS
According to Plaintiff: Plaintiff, age 19, who was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (“SLE”) at age 9, became pregnant and was referred to a high-risk perinatal group for prenatal care. She was able to carry the pregnancy to term without any major problems or complications due to SLE. She entered defendant medical center in January 2006 with a mild flare-up of her SLE. Her rheumatologist said it was okay to induce labor. However, she was discharged home the next day.

Plaintiff returned on February 4, 2006 with labor contractions. She was then admitted to the L&D unit at 1:00 p.m. and was seen by the perinatologist on call, who confirmed that the fetal monitor showed a reactive tracing with good variability.

At 7:00 p.m., there was a change in coverage, and plaintiff was assigned an L&D nurse who worked as a traveling nurse on a short-term contract. By 1:06 a.m. on February 5th, plaintiff was 8 cm dilated, 90 percent effaced, with a -2 station, and she had been given an epidural for pain relief. The FMS continued to show a reactive tracing. At 1:31 a.m., the nurse started Pitocin. At 2:22 a.m., the charge nurse ruptured the membranes and there was clear fluid. At 4:45 a.m., the on-call perinatologist determined that the patient was completely dilated and she was instructed to push. The FMS at this time showed some late decelerations, but the perinatologist thought that the fetus was still healthy at this time and left the room.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Understaffing and Negligence Result in Sacramento Birth Injury, Part 3 of 3

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:14:06 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Later the same night, the attending nurse changed the times in the progress notes. The nurses and the obstetrician falsely wrote in the delivery record that the fetal heart monitor had been “reassuring” before the birth.

The next day, the obstetrician sat down with the patient on her hospital bed and cried with her over what happened to the baby. Two days later, the obstetrician met with the hospital's risk manager.

Individually and as the guardian of M.T.'s estate, Sarah joined her husband in a lawsuit filed Sacramento County Superior Court against Sacramento Hospital, Dolores Stein, Sacramento Women's Care, Randy Hyle, and Pediatrix Medical Group. Stein, the obstetrician, worked for Sacramento Women's Care. Hyle, a neonatologist who participated in the birth, worked for Pediatrix Medical Group.

The Travises alleged the healthcare professionals and institutions were negligent and failed to possess and exercise the requisite level of care and skill in their care of Sarah and M.T. The hospital was further negligent by failing to select and train competent employees, failing to adopt and comply with necessary policies and procedures, failing to provide and monitor equipment properly, and failing to intervene in Sarah and M.T.'s treatment in a timely and effective manner.

Sarah sought damages on behalf of her daughter for permanent and disabling physical, mental and psychological injuries; physical and emotional pain, anguish, injury, suffering and harm; and impaired earning ability. On their own behalf, Sarah and Erik sought damages for destruction of the parent-child relationship, loss of companionship and support from M.T., and past and future medical and care expenses.

Sacramento Hospital denied the allegations directed at it. By way of affirmative defense, it argued the Travises caused their own damages and should share a proportion of fault, and that they failed to mitigate their damages.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Sacramento Birth Injury Case Brought After Hospital Failed to Staff Adequately, Part 2 of 3

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:12:54 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

The nurse left Travis and her husband, Evan Travis, alone in the labor and delivery room. In the meantime, other labor and delivery nurses let the obstetrician go home to dinner without telling her about Sarah's symptoms or admission.

Sacramento Hospital is a Level 3 hospital specializing in high-risk deliveries. It was delivering 4,300 babies per year and had one charge nurse to cover 49 rooms on two hospital floors. The hospital allows only obstetricians to perform Caesarian sections. It had an anesthesiologist and a neonatologist available to start the anesthesia and resuscitate the baby, but it did not have an obstetrician available to perform the surgery
after the attending physician went home to dinner.

When the nurses let the obstetrician go home, there were 33 pregnant women and 16 newborns in the labor and delivery unit.

The attending nurse went back to the Travis' room and figured out the baby's heart rate was dropping on the monitor, so she had the charge nurse call the obstetrician at home to tell her to come back to the hospital. The nurses knew the baby was being asphyxiated, but they did not transfer the mother to the operating room. They did not want the patient and her husband to be waiting in the operating room until the obstetrician arrived, because the couple would then know there was no physician available to deliver the baby.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Nurse’s Negligence Results in Sacramento Birth Injuries During Delivery, Part 1 of 3

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:10:48 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

Specific Liability: Nursing staff failed to recognize the history and signs of placental abruption in a patient in labor and failed to take the necessary action to address the complication

General Injury: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and other perinatal and neonatal injuries, resulting in cerebral palsy, seizures, spastic quadriplegia, and dysfunction of multiple organs; impairment of the parent-child relationship; emotional distress; medical and care expenses; impaired earning ability

Summary of Facts:
According to the plaintiff:
Sarah Travis, who had a history of Caesarian section and placental abruption, was a candidate for a vaginal birth at Sacramento Hospital in Sacramento, CA. Sacramento Hospital had medical documentation indicating Travis had a high risk of placental abruption.

Travis called the hospital around 7:30 pm May 30, 2002, with complaints of increased cramping and contractions. The hospital's charge nurse told her to come in for labor evaluation, but the nurses did not read her chart, know her medical history, or know her pregnancy risks.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Baby Born With Cerebral Palsy in Sacramento Birth Injury Lawsuit, Part 2 of 2

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:56:32 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

When the labor and delivery nurse returned from lunch at 11:30 a.m., she noticed decreased variability with late decelerations on the fetal movements. At 11:50 a.m., she called the obstetrician, who arrived at Plaintiff' bedside by 12:15 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor ordered a C-section, and the baby, plaintiff Alex, was delivered at 1:05 p.m. with no breathing and a heart rate below 100. The respiratory therapist had difficulty placing the ET tube, not succeeding until 1:18 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m., pediatrician Evans was called, and the neonatal intensive care unit transfer team arrived at 3 p.m. The pediatric neurologist at the transfer hospital, ABC Hospital of Folsom, diagnosed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and Alex was discharged on June 8.

In December, Alex underwent placement of a gastrostomy feeding tube.

Claiming physical damages, Plaintiffs--including plaintiff and father, age and profession undisclosed--sued the hospital and its owner, as well as the University of California and Hammer for medical malpractice.

Pediatrician Earl was originally included as a defendant, but was dismissed with prejudice in exchange for a waiver of costs at mediation.

Plaintiffs' counsel claimed that Hammer and the nurse practitioner failed to recognize the abnormal progress of Plaintiff' pregnancy and thus failed to order ultrasound testing and earlier delivery before she went into labor.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Sacramento Birth Injury Case Results After Doctor Fails to Report Abnormal Pregnancy Issues, Part 1 of 2

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:55:28 -0800

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Alex was born with cerebral palsy with moderate to severe developmental delay.

Facts:
On May 21, 2004, plaintiff, age and profession undisclosed, was due to give birth. In the preceding months, her pregnancy was being followed by obstetrician Hammer and a nurse practitioner at the ABC Medical Center.

All exams were recorded on a computer. An early ultrasound was normal, and Plaintiff’s AFP testing was normal. However, the computer program made it difficult to compare results from successive exams without printing out additional documents. Thus, there were no notes recording that Plaintiff had minimal weight gain in her last trimester or that there was a significant discrepancy between her fundal heights and gestational age.

On May 8, the fundal height dropped from 36 cm to 33 cm with a three-pound weight gain over the previous 11 weeks.

On May 14, Plaintiff was at 39 weeks gestation, and the fundal height was 34 cm.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.