Death of newborn baby, abruptio placenta a medical malpractice case

Disposition: (Settlement/Arbitration/Trial)	Settlement
Date:	8/26/1992
Type of Case:	Medical Malpractice
Allegation(s):	Death of Newborn Baby
Result:	$150,000
Case Name:	*Jane and John Doe v. Doctor and Hospital (confidential)*
Facts:
On June 19, 1991, 21-year-old plaintiff, Jane Doe, went into labor two days prior to her due date. At approximately 9:00 a.m. her water broke and she noticed a significant amount of blood and clots in the toilet. She immediately called defendant Doctor's office and was told to go to defendant Hospital to be evaluated and checked in. Jane Doe was admitted to triage at 10:25 a.m. and was assessed by Nurse "A" who noted a fetal heart rate baseline of 130 and audible decelerations with palpable uterine contractions followed by bright red bleeding. She also recorded Jane Doe's history of bleeding and clots. The fetal heart rate was decreased to 80-95 during the uterine contractions with gradual increase to 130. According to Nurse "A", she spoke with defendant Doctor at 10:35 a.m. and advised him of the moderate amount of bleeding and the type of late decelerations she heard. Defendant Doctor told Nurse "A" to send Jane Doe to the delivery room. (Defendant Doctor claimed that he was only told by the nurse that Jane Doe was in early labor and that the fetal monitor revealed a single late-type deceleration and that her bag of water had broken with some blood mixed with amniotic fluid.) Nurse "A" then called defendant Doctor after Jane Doe was sent to the delivery room and advised him that she thought Jane Doe probably had an abruptio (separating) placenta and that she was concerned. Defendant Doctor denied receiving this phone call. According to Nurse "B", a third call was placed to defendant Doctor at 11:05, and he was given an update in regard to Jane Doe's status, which included the fact that Jane Doe had several late decelerations. It was the understanding of Nurse "B" from speaking to defendant Doctor that he was on his way at that time and she expected him within 10-15 minutes. A fourth call was placed directly to defendant Doctor at 11:25 a.m. He was then recontacted by Nurse "A" and was informed of the difficulty they were having with the fetal heart tracing and with the bleeding. Specifically, she told defendant Doctor that the strip was "crummy" and could not be used to detect fetal distress. On all these occasions, defendant Doctor assured the nurses that he would be on his way to the hospital immediately. From the time of Jane Doe's arrival until the time defendant Doctor arrived, there were a number of indications that she was developing an abruptio placenta and that the baby was becoming distressed. All of the nurses testified to a moderate amount of bright red bleeding that could not have been related to increased "show." There is also evidence that Jane Doe's blood pressure became hypertensive, rising to 140/100 sometime shortly after 11:00 a.m. There were five separate references to bleeding in the records. There were also references to bradycardia on several occasions. There was also difficulty obtaining a fetal heart rate on the monitor for a considerable period of time. These are classic indications of developing abruptio placenta and fetal distress. Defendant Doctor arrived at 11:37 a.m. He performed a vaginal examination and both dark and bright red blood were noted on his glove. According to defendant Doctor's testimony, Jane Doe was going to undergo an "emergency" Caesarean section and he would have expected it to be done in 10-20 minutes. This decision was made by 11:40. Despite this, Jane Doe was moved to a delivery room at 11:42 a.m., although her baby was not delivered until 36 minutes later. The baby's APGAR scores were zero at one minute of birth, zero at five minutes of birth, and four at ten minutes of birth. He received full cardiac life support procedures and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. (The autopsy revealed that the plaintiff's baby had underdeveloped lungs.)
Injury/Injuries:
Emotional distress claim by parents for death of their newborn baby.
Contentions:
Plaintiffs contended that defendants were negligent in their management of Jane Doe's labor and delivery, causing the death of their newborn baby. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that there were multiple indications of a developing placental separation and fetal distress requiring that an emergency Caesarean section be performed. Defendants contended that their care and treatement of plaintiff was appropriate and within the standard of care and that their actions did not cause or contribute to the fetal demise.
Special Notes:
The parties settled the morning of the first day of trial. < back to Medical Malpractice Case Histories from The Law Offices of Robert Vaage and www.vaagelaw.com