Failure To Timely And Properly Treat Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Lawsuit Against West Suburban Medical Center | December 4th, 2018 – Cook County, Illinois
On December 4, 2018, WVFK&N attorneys Chris Norman and Jermaine Haughton filed a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a minor who suffered a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
According to the complaint, the child’s mother presented to West Suburban Medical Center in May of 2012 with complaints of contractions. The child’s mother was admitted to the labor and delivery department and was hooked to a fetal heart rate monitor and tocodynamometer. Although initial fetal heart rate tracings were reassuring, the child’s fetal heart rate tracings eventually developed concerning signs, including recurrent early and variable decelerations that eventually developed into late decelerations. The fetal heart rate tracings continued to deteriorate for several hours. Additionally, the mother’s cervix failed to progress for almost six hours before the defendants finally called for a caesarean delivery. The defendants continually noted the failure to progress but failed to diagnose the mother with arrest of labor. Once the cesarean delivery was ordered it took the defendants over an hour to fully perform the delivery. The baby was severely depressed at delivery and was delivered with significant caput succedaneum, which resulted from the seven and a half hours that the mother labored without progress. During that time, the contractions caused the fetal head to repeatedly impact the bony pelvis, causing injury to the fetal head. Given his depressed state at the time of birth, the child required total body cooling protocol.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to properly and timely respond to the mother’s cervical failure to progress and failed to respond to the non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracings. As a direct and proximate consequence of the negligent care and treatment rendered by the defendants, the child was not timely and safely delivered and was caused to suffer asphyxia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, brain damage, cerebral palsy, seizures, developmental delays, cognitive deficits, poor motor skills, and other permanent and disabling injuries and damages.
The action is pending in the Circuit Court for Cook County, Illinois.
