When you go to the hospital in Atlanta to have a baby, you expect to be taken care of and have the right to assume that you will be given the highest level of care. When there is a problem with your labor, your doctor and hospital staff should respond accordingly in order to minimize any injuries or issues that may occur.
A couple is suing a doctor and hospital after their baby was born with injuries that they say could have been prevented had the labor and delivery been handled differently. The baby was born on November 4, 2009 displaying seizure-like activity, was pale, did not have a strong pulse and had trouble breathing. The mother has a petite build and the baby was too big for her to deliver. The couple feels the doctor should have known this and performed a cesarean section. Instead, he allowed the labor to progress, and as a result, the baby was deprived of vital oxygen, and the mother required emergency surgery following the delivery.
The baby boy is now 4-years-old and has problems walking and taking. He also has cerebral palsy and is severely developmentally delayed. The couple feels that all of this could have been avoided had the doctor paid attention to the warning signs during the labor.
After hearing the medical malpractice lawsuit, a jury recently awarded the couple $55 million. Hopefully the family will be able to use this money to help pay for their son’s medical bills and continued treatment.
Source: The Morning Call, “Lehigh County jury awards family $55 million in medical malpractice case against St. Luke’s,” Kevin Amerman, Dec. 23, 2013
