The pregnant mother of twins went to the hospital at 28 weeks of pregnancy complaining of abdominal pain that began three hours before her arrival…medicalmalpracticelawyers, $9M Michigan Medical Malpractice Settlement For Twin Who Suffered Catastrophic Injuries Due To Delayed Delivery
She was seen by a physician’s assistant who had difficulty finding fetal heartbeats. A first-year resident was summoned and he too could not find fetal heartbeats. The PA then contacted a senior resident who unsuccessfully searched for fetal heartbeats for about 12 minutes, before contacting an attending OB/GYN.
The attending OB/GYN arrived seven minutes later and found the fetal heartbeats and diagnosed bradycardia, within two minutes of arrival at bedside. It took 10 minutes to get the mother to the operating room; delivery occurred 28 minutes after the discovery of the presence of bradycardia.
At the time of delivery, it was discovered that there was both a uterine rupture and placental abruption, which caused fetal hypoxia. One twin had died and the twin who survived suffered metabolic acidosis, hypoxic ischemic brain damage, and the sequalae of prematurity.
The surviving baby was subsequently diagnosed with cerebral palsy, is presently ventilator-dependent, has a tracheostomy, and has no voluntary movement except for occasional opening of his eyes, all of which result in a shorter life expectancy.
The plaintiffs alleged that there was an approximate 45-minute delay in locating fetal heartbeats, which led to the development of hypoxia super-imposed on the baby’s premature brain, and that delivery 20 minutes earlier would have led to a much healthier baby. The plaintiffs were helped in their liability argument by the residents’ admissions that they typically could find fetal heartbeats within two minutes of using the ultrasound, and after five minutes they would contact the attending OB/GYN.
The defendants argued that the placental pathology showed that there was uteroplacental insufficiency predating the mother’s presentation to the hospital by days, if not weeks, so that delivery even 90 minutes earlier would not have changed the outcome, and that the surviving twin’s prematurity was the primary cause of his injury due to his birth three months early.
The defendants further argued that the placental abruption and uterine rupture were asymptomatic until immediately before the C-section, so that hypoxia was unavoidable. The defendants further placed blame on the mother, contending that her delay in seeking medical care for three hours after the onset of abdominal pain prevented timely medical treatment.
Any cause of action for the stillborn baby reportedly had expired by the time the mother sought legal advice.