According to a recent report, a local hospital has agreed to settle a birth injury lawsuit with the family of a 10-year-old girl. The medical malpractice suit alleges that the girl sustained a debilitating spinal cord injury during a difficult labor and delivery. As the result of errors that occurred, the child was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. The lawsuit claims that had the hospital and medical staff involved not be negligent, the child would not have sustained harm.
In general, doctors and other health care providers are held to a certain standard of care for the profession, Typically, the standard is determined by the type of practice and what is the expected level of care as established by their peers.
In this instance, the family alleged that the hospital was negligent in failing to have a competent and skill obstetrician handling the labor and delivery and failing to have properly trained medical staff onsite.
When the failure to follow the proper standard leads to harm – the doctor, hospital or other medical staff may be held responsible and be required to pay damages. Here, according to the complaint, the child was in the wrong position during the final stages of labor. The baby was born with its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck and as a result, suffered a serious spinal cord injury. The girl is now a quadriplegic, and has lost sensation and control in all limbs and her torso. The loss of use and feeling can be partial or total and can result in respiratory complications, infections, cardiovascular disease, pressure sores and other non-optimum conditions.
The funds recovered in this matter will go towards medical care and other costs the child will incur over the course of her lifetime.
For more information, or if believe you or a loved one has suffered harm as the result of medical malpractice, please contact the experienced Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.
