Birth Personal Injury case awards 32.8 million dollars to PA family
This is an extremely tragic birth personal injury story, but one that every mom to be or future mom to be needs to hear. A Chester County woman could not wait for her beautiful daughter to be born at Pheonixville Hospital. She had no idea that her daughter was about to experience an extremely severe birth personal injury due to the incautious behavior of two nurses.
The labor was going as planned and all seemed well. Suddenly, two nurses noticed that the heartbeat of the infant dropped significantly from the normal 150 beats per minute to a very low 60 beats per minute.
Both nurses witnessed the drop in the heart rate, yet neglected to inform the mother’s OB-GYN about the dramatic change in heart rate. Once told, the OB-GYN immediately performed an emergency C-section. The OB-GYN quickly determined the heart rate dropped because oxygen to the baby’s brain had been blocked by the umbilical cord. Although the OB-GYN acted quickly, the C-section emergency delivery did not occur until twenty minutes after the nurses first detected the babies low heart rate.
Due to the birth personal injury, the young child suffers from “spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.” A 32.8 million dollar birth personal injury verdict was awarded to the family for medical expenses and 1 million dollars for future lost earning capacity.
As the cousin of two family members with cerebral palsy, the money awarded to the young girl and her family will not make up for the lifetime of physical therapy, hospital visits and hardships that could have been so easily avoided.
Having a child is one of the most exciting moments in a woman’s life, but can also be very scary. The majority of labors do not have severe complications like the one above, but it is important to be aware that all women labor differently. Ask your doctors regarding any concerns you may have during the labor.
Below are also tips to make sure your child birth goes so smoothly and safely.
Tip 1:
Speak up for the important stuff! Remember YOU are your BEST ADVOCATE!
You do have a say in your labor and delivery. Whether you have your eye on that room with the whirlpool tub or the nurse who delivered your neighbor’s sister’s friend, you are entitled to the birth you want. But you have to let us know.
Tip 2:
Think of your birth plan as your birth guide.
Nothing ruins a birth plan faster than trying to stick to it. The best births I’ve seen are the ones with relaxed moms — moms who have a general idea of what they want but are also realistic and flexible when they need to be. A no-intervention, dimly-lit room with soft music and fresh flowers really isn’t the goal, is it?