Any time a medical provider makes a bad call and a patient is injured, the lives of those impacted may never be the same. This is why North Carolina families who fall victim to medical malpractice deserve compensation for the financial and emotional damage they are forced to endure.
Sometimes, certain medical errors are so egregious that there are simply no words to describe how those affected must feel. Recently, one couple filed a lawsuit for their son who died during birth as the result of a long series of medical errors and ineffective judgment.
Before their child was born, a doctor told the expectant parents that a cesarean section would be necessary to deliver their son due to the size of his abdomen. Despite this doctor’s opinion, the physician responsible for delivering the baby refused to go forward with the surgical procedure, nor would he let the couple to have their child at another medical facility.
At this point, the story takes a tragic and horrifying twist. During birth, the baby became stuck — just as the original doctor predicted if a standard delivery was performed. The attending physician responded by trying to pull the baby out, which caused the child’s head to become “separated from the cervical spine.”
Shockingly, the case does not end here: The doctor proceeded with an emergency C-section before giving the mother any anesthetic drugs. Not only did the woman’s child pass away during birth, but the mother was also forced to endure a painful surgery while this terrifying ordeal played out.
This disturbing case shows just how serious some birth injuries can be. No parent should have the happiest day of their life become one of the worst because the doctor they trusted refused to use sound medical judgment. Even though the attending doctor was aware that problems would likely arise during vaginal delivery, he still went forward with it.
If the physician had simply heeded the sound opinion of his colleague, then the entire family would probably have left the hospital happy and healthy. Instead, the family was forced to live without an additional member. Nothing can truly make up for what happened that day, but a successful claim may be an important step in the search for peace.
Source: Yahoo News, “Newborn’s Decapitation at Birth Prompts Malpractice Lawsuit,” William Browning, Oct. 12, 2012
- Our firm has experience helping families through the difficult days and months after a medical error causes serious injury during birth. To learn more, please visit our North Carolina birth injury page.