It’s the most magical time of a woman’s life — the moment when she finally gets to see and hold the child that she has been growing, loving and anticipating for 40 long weeks. For some in Oregon and other states, that moment is tainted with the realization that the baby she has longed for is not the healthy, happy infant she expected. Even more crushing is the discovery that the medical complications the child is crippled with were not developmental flaws but were instead caused by delivery errors. One mother is dealing with these horrible realizations after her healthy son was born with severe brain injuries, allegedly due to delivery errors.
The mother had indicated a desire to pursue a vaginal delivery. During her 20 hour labor she was regularly given Pitocin, a drug that speeds the delivery process but can cause adverse reactions in some babies. While more and more Pitocin was administered, the baby’s heart rate fluctuated, sometimes becoming alarmingly low for an extended period of time.
When the baby was finally born, he required immediate resuscitation. His life was saved, but he suffered severe brain injuries due to the lack of oxygen during the delivery process. He was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, Microcephaly, physical and developmental delays and other medical problems.
The parents filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and its operating company. It alleges that the staff should have informed them of the dangers of continuing the use of Pitocin and seeking a vaginal delivery instead of having an emergency cesarean section. They claim that such information would have caused them to agree to a C-section and would have allowed their son to be born healthy. The parents are seeking monetary compensation to help with the multitude of medical bills and other expenses the boy will incur as well as the emotional loss they have and will continue to endure.
There is little in life as gut-wrenching as knowing a baby could have been born healthy but instead will endure a lifetime of suffering due to delivery errors. In these situations the life-long financial burden placed on the family can be crippling. With the help of an experienced Oregon attorney the family can seek monetary compensation. Doing so will not only help them financially but will hopefully also spark change and prevent others from suffering the same fate.