Egregious Obstetrics Leads to Catastrophic Complications for Baby

Multi-Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Settlement

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Our client presented to the hospital 38 weeks into her pregnancy to induce labor. At the time of her admittance, her baby’s baseline heart rate was within the normal range. Our client was examined by an obstetrician who started our client on Pitocin–a drug to augment labor.

The Pitocin was incrementally increased over the next several hours. Our client began to suffer from uterine tachysystole–a condition characterized by 6 or more contractions in a 10 minute period that results in an abnormally low level of oxygen in the blood of the baby. Our client’s medical providers were obligated to decrease or stop the Pitocin when our client began to suffer from uterine tachysystole to protect the baby, but the Pitocin was instead increased. Nurses also began to notice recurrent decelerations in the baby’s heart rate, which is a sign that the fetus is in distress. The Pitocin was eventually discontinued hours later and the baby’s heart rate and contractions normalized.

Inexplicably, 46 minutes after the Pitocin was discontinued, it was restarted by a nurse without a physician’s order. Our client once again began to suffer from uterine tachysystole and the baby exhibited recurrent heart rate decelerations. Our client continued to receive Pitocin, further distressing and suffocating the baby. A C-section was eventually performed and the baby was delivered with no pulse, breath, muscle tone, or reflexes. The baby was placed on a ventilator and drew her first breath 15 minutes after delivery.

Because of the conduct of our client’s medical providers, the baby will never roll over, sit, stand, or walk, and her communication skills are and will be greatly limited. Rosen Louik & Perry settled this case for several million dollars.