We have previously discussed some of the injuries and health complications children have suffered during birth as a result of negligence on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog. These injuries and complications often occur when doctors or nurses fail to properly monitor a mother and her baby during birth or when medical professionals make a mistake during the delivery of a child. But even if a child is safely delivered without any apparent injuries, a doctor’s job is not finished.
Doctors and nurses in Illinois — and in the entire U.S. — are responsible making sure that a mother and her newborn are still healthy after delivery and that neither individual is suffering from any complications. If other complications are discovered, hospital staff is responsible for diagnosing the mother or child so that the patient can be properly treated and cared for in order to prevent further injury, or even death.
One couple, who gave birth to a baby boy in June 2009, is now suing the doctor for negligence after they claimed that the doctor assumed that their child would not live after he was born and left the baby’s body in a plastic bin to die.
The child is alive, but he suffered serious injuries as a result of the doctor’s misdiagnosis and from not receiving medical treatment in a timely manner.
The lawsuit was filed last week on the child’s behalf. According to the lawsuit, the child’s heart rate was irregular shortly after birth and the baby appeared to be gasping for air. The delivering doctor then made the decision that the newborn “had no chance of living,” and instead of trying to treat the child, the doctor put the baby in a bin while the family decided what they wanted to do with the body.
But a few hours later, a nurse who was passing by the bin heard that the baby was still alive and trying to breathe. The child was resuscitated and spent the next three months recovering from brain injuries and other injuries at a Nashville hospital.
The family is seeking damages for the doctor’s failure to properly diagnose, treat and care for the baby after he was born. Fortunately, the child did survive this tragic incident, but the child’s injuries may not have been as severe had the baby been properly treated hours before he was found in the bin still fighting for his life.
Source: The Tennesean, “Lawsuit claims Robertson doctor neglected newborn,” Brandon Gee, Dec. 22, 2011
