Sacramento Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

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.)

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.

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.)

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.

Continue reading " Family Claims Delayed C-section Caused Brain Injury In Infant " »

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.)

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.

Continue reading " Mother Sues Hospital After Baby Born With Birth Injury, Part 3 of 3 " »

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.)

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.

Continue reading " Infant Born With Cerebral Palsy in Sacramento Birth Injury Lawsuit, Part 2 of 3 " »