One day after a full-term baby was successfully delivered at a medical center, the newborn was given routine screenings for congenital heart defects…medicalmalpracticelawyers, $1.475M Virginia Medical Malpractice Settlement For Newborn Who Suffered Permanent Leg Injury Due To Failure To Timely Diagnose And Treat Aortic Coarctation
The first echocardiogram was interpreted as not showing any signs of aortic coarctation, and the next two echocardiograms were interpreted as showing that portions of the newborn’s heart were small. A treating physician had aortic coarctation on the differential diagnosis for the newborn until the time of discharge, but no consult by a specialist was obtained.
The newborn suffered tachypnea, mottling, bluish color, and decreased capillary refill while in the hospital. Despite the continuing and worsening clinical issues that the baby was experiencing, the baby was discharged to home five days after birth.
Two days after arriving home, the baby suffered respiratory failure and was transported to a hospital. In the hospital, the baby required resuscitation and placement of an intraosseous line. The intraosseous line infiltrated, which caused damage to the baby’s leg. The baby’s aortic coarctation was finally diagnosed, after which the baby was airlifted to a higher level medical center for treatment, which fortunately was successful. However, the baby suffered permanent leg damage, including leg deformity and shortening.
The plaintiff’s Virginia medical malpractice claim alleged that the medical providers at the hospital where the baby was born were medically negligent by not diagnosing the newborn’s aortic coarctation shown on the echocardiograms, by failing to diagnose the newborn’s aortic coarctation based on clinical information in conjunction with the manner in which the echocardiograms were reported, by not properly communicating with one another, by failing to consult with an appropriate specialist, and by negligently discharging the newborn to home.
The plaintiff alleged that if the medical staff had complied with the standard of care, the newborn’s aortic coarctation would have been timely diagnosed and treated, which would have avoided the newborn’s respiratory failure, resuscitation, and the leg damage resulting from infiltration of the intraosseous line.
The defense reportedly argued that the gold standard for diagnosis of aortic coarctation is echocardiograms, that the echocardiograms were properly interpreted, that the newborn’s clinical problems were related to other conditions such as transient tachypnea of newborn and pulmonary hypertension, that proper communication occurred, and that the newborn’s outcome was caused by factors outside their control.
The settlement included $1.1 million in past and anticipated future medical expenses.