Missed Signs Of Fetal Distress Results in Baby’s Brain Injury And Lawsuit
While seen by a doctor or a nurse individuals normally assume that the physician or nurse either (1) has the know-how and expertise to make an accurate diagnosis of whatever they may have and order the best treatment or (2) is under the supervision of a senior physician or nurse who does. According to the second possibility, the physician or nurse can learn while treating actual patients if their mistakes are noticed and rectified so that patients are not hurt. After all, they attend school, study, and invest many, many hours learning valuable knowledge by real experience. But until they achieve a suitable degree of experience they will probably make mistakes. Plus going back to expectations people want to be certain that any such mistake will not hurt them.
While in the training stages new doctors and nurses have to recognize what they are able to do and what they are not. The senior physicians and nurses who supervise those who are in training must also understand that those in training have not yet fully achieved the knowledge and skills necessary to act on their own. Without realizing this, the amount of supervision will not be sufficient and can lead to errors. And with a lack of proper supervision these mistakes will not be caught and remedied resulting in devastating consequences.
Recently a case was reported that revealed how a pregnant woman went to the hospital with nausea and vomiting. On admission a nurse trainee examined the woman and checked her condition. The nurse trainee used a fetal heart rate monitor to check on the unborn baby. The strip documented that the woman’s unborn baby was in severe fetal distress. It was the same nurse trainee who, however, rather than an experienced doctor or nurse, who read the tracings from the fetal heart rate monitor. The nurse trainee incorrectly read the strip as normal. Even though there was no any supervision by a physician or a registered nurse, the nurse trainee took no action to protect the health of the baby and simply discharged the woman.
Three days later the infant was delivered as scheduled. She had to go through therapy. She was not able to eat on her own and thus had to be fed with a feeding tube. For four years she had to endure seizures. And she died from complications of the cerebral palsy. She was survived by her father and mother and by her 11 and 16 year old brothers. The law firm that represented the parents was able to report that they took the case to trial and achieved a verdict on behalf of the parents in the amount of $4,400,000.
This matter is an example of what can happen if a physician or nurse who is still in training is permitted to treat patients on their own before having entirely developing the essential skills. An experienced physician or nurse, even though also capable of making such a mistake, is much less likely to do so. An experienced physician or obstetrics nurses will likely have dealt with hundreds or even thousands of fetal heart rate monitor strips and honed the ability to tell when it shows an abnormal pattern that needs immediate attention. And when an error by a nurse trainee is not caught by a supervising doctor or nurse the outcome, as in the case discussed above, can have tragic consequences and might end in a malpractice lawsuit.
You can learn more about fetal distress and other types of birth injuries including group b streptococcus matters by visiting the website
Article submitted Saturday, August 28, 2010 & read 23 times.
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