Doctor Negligence During Delivery of Baby
Our Case
In December 2000, Patty Henderson was a 36-year-old
woman when she became pregnant with Patricia Rachael
Fitzgerald. She had known her boyfriend, Wayne Fitzgerald,
for approximately 16 years. Patty Henderson had been
pregnant on two prior occasions. In the first instance
she had an uneventful abortion in the 1980's and on
the subsequent occasion she delivered a healthy baby
girl. Patricia was very much a wanted child between
Patty and Wayne.
Ms. Henderson began visits at the Hospital Maternity Clinic in January 2001.
She then went to New York where she received prenatal care at the Family Health
Center. The ultrasound of March 2001 placed her due date as August 14, 2001.
Patty returned to Philadelphia to re-establish her relationship with the father
of the baby, Wayne Fitzgerald. She also returned to the Hospital Clinic in June
2001, under the care of defendant, Dr. Slack.
During these visits, she was diagnosed as being large for gestational age. Dr.
Slack then decided Patty should be admitted for induction at term on August 12,
2001. Ms. Henderson's pregnancy had been a normal pregnancy thus far. She had
been continually assured that both her and her baby were fine.
The time for induction was set to occur on August 12, 2001. The reason for such
induction was because she would be "too large for gestational age". On the evening
of August 12, 2001, at approximately 10:16 p.m., Cervidil, a cervix-ripening
agent, was placed in Patty by the resident doctor. The appropriate standard of
care required that Pitocin be given one hour after Cervidil has been pulled or
stopped. However, it became clear in this case that the Cervidil was pulled at
8:45 a.m. and the Pitocin was incorrectly started at 8:50 a.m., only five minutes
later. After the "Pitocin" was incorrectly started, the nurses, residents and
Dr. Slack failed to adequately evaluate, diagnose and manage the hyper stimulation
of Patty's uterus, occurring over the following hours.
Finally, at 1:10 p.m., Patty Henderson was scheduled for an OR stat C-section.
When the initial incision was made, blood was found in the pertinam. Furthermore,
the baby's head was in the abdominal cavity. The uterus was ruptured causing
massive amounts of bleeding. This child was severely brain damaged due to the
undiagnosed ruptured uterus caused by the hyper stimulation.
Fortunately, Ms. Henderson did survive but she no longer has a uterus. Baby Patrica
Henderson, who was 8 lbs. 14 oz., was so brain damaged and traumatized by the
labor and delivery that she was entirely dependent on a ventilator. Unfortunately,
despite everything, the baby's neurological status did not improve and Patricia
remained unresponsive. Despite aggressive treatment, the baby ultimately died
on September 7, 2001.
Why were defendants negligent?
The defendants deviated from the acceptable standard of care in Pennsylvania
in negligently administering Cervidil and Pitocin within five (5) minutes of
one another. This in turn caused the hyper stimulation to occur. Furthermore,
had the defendant performed the required C-section earlier then Patricia would
have likely survived.
The Verdict
The Lewis Law Firm were able to recover a large monetary award
as a result of settlement. The battle was far from easy but the reward received
was well worth the effort. At the Lewis Law Firm, we go to battle
for you.
* Names have been changed where appropriate.
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