Decades of Experience in Birth Injury Medical Negligence Cases
Recently, G. Eric Nielson & Associates, a leading medical malpractice lawyer in Utah, settled a severe birth injury case for over four and a half million dollars. This case involved, unfortunately, all of the sad clichés that are seen in modern medicine:
1. A poor patient with lousy insurance getting second class medical care.
2. A series of “staff physicians” trying to take care of a patient they don’t personally know because the patient’s regular OB/GYN (the person who was supposed to deliver the baby) is too busy at her clinic to come to the hospital.
3. A senior doctor who hasn’t been personally involved in the patient’s care chooses to override the young doctor on the scene. As a result, a life-saving caesarean section is delayed for four hours.
Our client, a young woman, presented to a local hospital to deliver her first child. She was excited about the prospect of becoming a mother. All went well for the first several hours, then the fetal heart tracing started showing abnormal signs- the baby’s heart rate is slowing down. The tracing shows late decelerations and prolonged decelerations. Clear signs of fetal distress.
The resident physician on the scene makes a good decision to get mom to the operating room in anticipation of an emergency C-section. But before the surgery happens, a senior attending physician overrules the resident.
Two hours later there are severe signs of fetal distress on the fetal heart tracing, but the doctor elects not to intervene. At 3:30 there are more concerning signs, and the nurses recognize that a C-section may be necessary, but the doctor who really ought to come and do the C-section is busy doing another operation on another patient. Rather than get another doctor in to do an emergency C-section, the staff waits until 4:30 for the doctor on duty to come and perform the operation. By the time the baby is delivered, she has suffered a catastrophic brain injury known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The baby goes on to develop cerebral palsy.
Through the efforts of the medical malpractice attorneys a G. Eric Nielson and Associates, the hospital ultimately accepted responsibility and settled the case. The resulting settlement will fund care for this beautiful little girl for the next 25-30 years. The family was able to buy a wheelchair-accessible home for their daughter to live in. They are no longer constantly stressed about medical bills. They can buy a wheelchair-accessible van and get their child the care she needs.
This little girl’s grandmother wrote an extremely touching description of her granddaughter’s life. We were so moved by it, we decided to include it in this description of the case (without identifying information):
“My name is . . . .
I have suffered brain trauma causing me to have cerebral palsy from complications at birth.
I have very special people in my life. What they give me and provide for me will determine my quality of life.
I live my life through them.
I will spend my life lying down or in my wheelchair.
I am 4½ years old now and I cannot walk or sit up on my own without falling over.
My papa called me a bobble head because my neck muscles are weak so it is hard to hold my head up. I don’t move my arms much, and my hands are usually closed tight. I am not able to pick things up. I am not able to roll over, and if I did, I would not be able to move or possibly breathe well. They roll me from one side to the other, they scratch my itches and wipe away my tears.
We are connected in so many ways. They give me what I cannot give myself, and that’s when I smile a lot.
I am happy for the abilities that I have.
I wait for these special people to come talk and interact with me. Sometimes we play, we sing, and we learn. That’s when I smile a lot.
I do get sad when everyone’s busy getting things done and cannot spend as much time with me, but I am very patient.
I hope these very special people will always take care of me and keep me safe and out of harm’s way.”
If your child has suffered severe injury as the result of medical negligence, do not hesitate to contact us. We will work tirelessly to get you the help your child needs.
