Failure To Treat Timely And Properly- Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury
Lawsuit Against St. Mary’s Hospital Of St. Mary’s County, Inc. | June 22nd, 2018 – St. Mary’s County, Maryland
On June 22, 2018, WVFK&N attorneys Stephen Offutt 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 the emergency department of the Medstar St. Mary’s Hospital in November 2016 in active labor. The child’s mother was admitted to the labor and delivery department and was eventually hooked to a fetal heart rate monitor. The child’s fetal heart rate tracings showed concerning signs that were not acted upon promptly. The situation deteriorated over time and the child was eventually delivered via caesarian section delivery. Eventually, umbilical artery blood gases were taken with a pH result of 6.83 and a base excess result of -18.8. The placenta was examined by a pathologist who found there was acute chorioamnionitis associated with reactive cellular changes, placental infarction, and interstitial hemorrhage. Today, the child suffers from spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy as a result of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to properly and timely respond to the child’s condition and failed to timely and properly treat the child’s deteriorating clinical status. As a result, the child is developmentally delayed and suffers from cerebral palsy. As a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ negligence, the child suffered permanent neurological injuries and damages during labor and delivery and will require significant medical care and treatment due to the effects of the severe hypoxic-ischemic brain injury she sustained.
The action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division.
