Greenville, NC Medical Malpractice Law Blog

A couple has finally found some measure of justice against two midwives who improperly delivered their child. In the course of birthing the baby, the midwives' medical negligence caused the infant to suffer permanent brain damage, forcing this North Carolina family to live out a scenario no family should have to endure. Recently, the family was awarded $5 million in an out-of-court settlement.

In 2008, the midwives, a mother and daughter pair, were performing the delivery when the baby became deprived of oxygen. The midwife and her daughter intentionally sought to avoid trial for their negligent care, so they settled. A legal representative for the baby's family indicated that a jury would likely have ruled in favor of parents and could have issued a larger reward. The midwives did not carry malpractice insurance, so they will probably file for bankruptcy, which means that they may never pay all of the $5 million.

Over the last dozen years or so, North Carolina state health officials have tried to do something about alarming rates of medical malpractice in the state's health care institutions. Unfortunately, the rates of such incidents remain high and have not shifted down at the pace many would like to see. A study released by The New England Journal showed that 20 percent of North Carolina patients receive some sort of injury as the result of medical mistakes.

The study, conducted by the nation's foremost medical journal, randomly surveyed 10 hospitals in North Carolina. Of the patients treated, 588 injuries were reported. Shockingly, 17 of the injuries led to permanent medical damage and 14 ended in death. Throughout the United States, the number of medical-related injuries did not drop between 2002 and 2007, even though efforts aimed to do so.

Whenever a child is born with injuries, the question is raised as to whether the baby's doctor is responsible for those injuries. One family is wondering this exact question regarding their now three-year-old daughter.

The little girl was born in April of 2009. She suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of severe brain damage that the parents claim occurred during her birth. They claim that the baby's heart rate dropped significantly during her birth, and that the doctor should have expedited the delivery in order to guard against permanent brain damage.

North Carolina mothers with relatively uncomplicated pregnancies probably don't expect things to go wrong during birth. Unfortunately, one family is dealing the consequences of apparent medical negligence that caused their son to develop a form of cerebral palsy. In response to the doctor's failure to pay attention to the baby's slowing heart rate, the family has filed a medical malpractice claim against their health care providers.

It wasn't until labor began that this expecting mother experienced difficulties. When the woman was 38 weeks along with her pregnancy, she and her doctors decided to induce labor. At that time, the woman questioned the wisdom of mixing two particular drugs to trigger the labor, but doctors reassured her that everything was fine. As labor began, the baby's heart rate strip indicated a low heart rate and hospital staff noted this occurrence, but did nothing about it. Eventually, complications led to an emergency Caesarean section and the woman's uterus ruptured. The baby's heart continued to beat too slowly after he was born.