Illinois women who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant understand that it is important for them to visit their doctors on a regular basis throughout their pregnancies. During prenatal care checkups, doctors will perform exams to make sure women are healthy throughout their pregnancies. Doctors will also perform medical tests to make sure women do not have gestational diabetes, high blood pressure or other concerning symptoms. Failing to perform these exams and tests could put pregnant women and their babies in danger of suffering birth injuries, pregnancy-related injuries or brain injuries.
Recently, an Illinois woman filed a lawsuit against her doctor because she says her doctor had failed to perform a medical test that is necessary to perform as part of a woman’s prenatal care to find out whether a mother’s unborn baby may be exposed to Group B streptococcus, which is a bacterial infection that can harm babies when they are born if they are exposed to the bacteria. The lawsuit states that the woman’s doctor did not properly evaluate whether the woman had Group B strep during her pregnancy, and as a result, the mother’s baby suffered a brain injury after being born with the infection.
The baby suffered severe brain damage after being exposed to Group B strep during delivery and birth, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states that because the woman was not properly evaluated for Group B strep, she was not able to receive the treatment she had needed to prevent her baby from being exposed to Group B during birth. According to the American Pregnancy Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that doctors screen all of their pregnant patients for Group B strep to prevent babies from suffering injuries from being exposed to the bacteria.
The woman who recently filed the medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois claims that medical expenses for treating her child’s injuries will total millions of dollars. Her child, who was born last summer, will never be able to walk, talk or think, the lawsuit states. Sadly, these permanent injuries may have been avoided had the woman’s doctor properly tested and treated her for Group B strep.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Med mal suit claims treatment of brain-damaged child will cost tens of millions,” Kelly Holleran, April 25, 2013
