Malpractice Lawsuit Involving Failure By Nurse To Detect Placental Abruption Yields Settlement In Amount Of $1.1 Million

A placental abruption is a complication in which the placenta that retains the baby separates from the expectant mother's uterus. This is a perilous complication which can place the unborn baby at risk of severe harm and death unless immediate action is taken. Common symptoms of placental abruption are consistent abdominal or back pain, vaginal bleeding, and continuous contractions. Should an expectant mother suffers a placental abruption late in the pregnancy immediate action, such as an emergency C-section, may need to be taken to safeguard the wellbeing of her unborn child.

The expectant mother in this scenario was only 19 years old and it was her first pregnancy. She was admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery. At admission she reported that she had continuous abdominal pain to the medical staff. The nurse who examined her documented that the woman's abdomen was hard and that she was experiencing contant uterine contrations.

Not long afterward, expectant mother also started having heavy vaginal bleeding. The nurse showed the woman where the linen closet was located and told her that she needed to get towels from the closet and use the towels to soak up the blood on her own, but the nurse did not notify a physician of the situation.

In addition to the vaginal bleeding and contraction pattern (which are known symptoms of a placental abruption) the young pregnant woman began having severe pain (a common symptom of a placental abruption) after being at the hospital for approximately four to five hours.Again, the obstetrics nurse did not notify a doctor. Rather the nurse administered pain medication. Five minutes later, the baby's fetal heart monitor was flat. Yet, the nurse still did not notify a doctor.The nurse chalked the situation up to a response to the mother being administered the pain medication. The nurse thus not only failed to notify a doctor, the nurse did not make any attempt to wake the baby in order to make sure hypoxia was not involved. The nurse finally contacted a doctor approximately fifty minutes after the baby's heart rate went flat.
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Once a physician finally arrived, meconium was found and progressive deep decelerations of the baby's heart rate were noted. The attending obstetrician then arrived and performed an emergency C-section with only local anesthesia as the situation was too urgent to wait for the anesthesiologist to arrive. Given the urgent need for speed at this point and given that an anesthesiologist was not available the attending performed the emergency C-section using only local anesthesia. As the doctor was delivering the baby via C-section the physician found that there had been a placental abruption that had cut off the supply of oxygen to the unborn baby. The baby showed signs of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy - (damage caused to the central nervous system due to a lack of oxygen) which testing later confirmed. In time, it was discovered that the child was developmentally and mentally retarded.

A malpractice lawsuit was filed on behalf of the parents and the child alleging that the injury to the child was preventable had the nurse realized that there was a serious complication in the pregnancy and notified a doctor of the situation. He has a life expectancy into the 40's. But, in an attempt to reduce the value of the case, the defense argued he would only have about 10 years. The child needs occupations therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. The law firm representing the parents and the child, nonetheless, achieved a settlement on the lawsuit for $1,100,000, with $60,000 for the parents and the rest to the child.