Negligent Performance Of Cesarean Section Delivery
Brain Injury – Lawsuit Against Mercy Medical Center | November 13, 2019 – Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland
On November 13, 2019, WVFK&N attorneys Keith Forman and David Grzechowiak filed a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a minor who suffered a brain injury due to premature birth.
The complaint alleges that on March 3, 2013, the child’s mother presented to Mercy Medical Center at 30 weeks and 1 days’ gestation. She reported complaints of vaginal bleeding and pre-term contractions. She was placed on an external fetal monitor. The fetal heart rate tracing was normal and reassuring. The heart rate tracings were indicative of a fetus who was healthy in utero and were strongly predictive of a good outcome at the time of observation. The fetal heart rate tracing remained reassuring throughout the remainder of the mother’s admission up to and including the time of birth. Betamethasone was administered for fetal lung maturity and magnesium sulfate was administered for tocolysis, in order to suppress preterm labor. The doctors performed tests to determine whether the mother had experienced a placental abruption, which is when the placenta separates from the uterus prior to birth. Despite these reassuring findings, without any maternal or fetal indication, and in violation of the standard of care, the doctors at Mercy Medical Center delivered the baby via cesarean section at 30 weeks and 1 day, without the benefit of a full course of betamethasone. The indication for delivery was placental abruption or suspected placental abruption. However, the operative report did not describe a placental abruption, and the placental pathology did not describe any findings consistent with an abruption. Additionally, the test results, which were apparently resulted after the baby was delivered, had no evidence of placental abruption. At birth, the baby was limp and blue, with no respiratory effort. In the immediate newborn period, the baby suffered from respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory failure, grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage, and periventricular leukomalacia, amongst other conditions and illnesses. Today, the baby continues to suffer from the sequela of the premature birth he suffered, including but not limited to cerebral palsy, motor impairments, cognitive deficits and developmental delays.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants performed an unindicated cesarean section delivery that caused the baby to be born prematurely. The child is developmentally delayed and suffers from cerebral palsy and other serious injuries as a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ negligence. The child suffered permanent neurological injuries and damages as a result of his premature birth and will require significant medical care and treatment for the remainder of his life.
The action is pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland.
