Failure To Properly Diagnose And Treat Pre-Eclampsia
Lawsuit Against Howard County General Hospital | October 19th, 2018 – Howard County, Maryland
On October 19, 2018, WVFK&N attorneys Keith Forman, Christopher Norman, and Jermaine Haughton filed a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a minor who suffers from significant development delay and cognitive and mental impairment.
According to the complaint, in the days immediately preceding the delivery on February 15, 2002, the child’s mother presented to the Howard County general Hospital with several key indicators of severe pre-eclampsia. Notwithstanding the mother’s complaints, which included serve migraines, and the other clinical presentations indicative of severe pre-eclampsia, the medical staff at Howard County General Hospital discharged on numerous separate occasions with instructions to follow-up with any changes. The next day after discharge, February 15, 2002, the mother was found on the floor in her home, unresponsive, and in a tonic-clonic eclampic seizure. She was taken back to Howard County General Hospital, where she was noted to be unresponsive with an abnormal blood pressure. She gave birth to twins, who were delivered via cesarean section shortly after the mother’s arrival at the hospital. Both twins were depressed at birth, and experienced seizures consistent with hypoxia and ischemia. The newborn summary indicates the provider’s impression of “perinatal distress,” which obviously resulted from the maternal eclampsia.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants breached the standard of care by, among other things, failing to properly and timely diagnose and treat the mother for severe pre-eclampsia. The child suffers from significant neurodevelopmental and physical issues, including but not limited to static encephalopathy, severe autism, severe expressive and receptive communication disorder, and anxiety disorder secondary to the events of his birth. The child’s injuries were directly and proximately caused by the defendants’ negligence. Had the Defendants complied with the applicable standards of care, the child would be a normal, healthy child today.
The action is pending in the Circuit Court for Howard County, Maryland.
