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Christopher Nyberg and Bradley Zimmerman obtained a significant settlement on behalf of a family who tragically lost their newborn baby 46 minutes after birth as a result of oxygen deprivations suffered during birth.
Our client experienced an uneventful normal pregnancy and was scheduled for induction at 41 weeks. A few days prior to the scheduled induction, our client presented to the hospital and an examination revealed that she was 4 cm dilatated, so she was admitted. While she was in the hospital, our client’s dilation continued to increase, causing her to go into labor. As a result, our client’s delivery plan was shifted to a vaginal delivery rather than C-section.
However, once our client started pushing, the baby’s fetal monitoring strips (used to monitor the baby’s heartrate) worsened. The strips revealed uneven and late decreases in the fetal heart rate (late decelerations), which were not improving for over two hours. Christopher Nyberg alleged that at this point, our client should have undergone an emergency delivery to ensure that the baby could be properly treated.
Despite the fact that the baby was experiencing an irregular heart rate, our client’s doctors allowed her to continue pushing for an additional two hours, which was not within the accepted standard of care. After nearly two hours, once our client was re-evaluated, and doctors finally recognized that our client emergently needed a c-section due to the continued presence of alarming fetal monitoring strips and decreasing fetal heart rate. Unfortunately, the C-section was further delayed for nearly an hour, and the baby significantly worsened during this period.
As a result of the prolonged labor, the baby was born in very poor condition, had an irregular color, and required immediate compression and intubation. The baby tragically passed away 46 minutes later, and according to the autopsy report, the case of death was attributed to consequences of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).
HIE is primarily caused by oxygen deprivation to a baby’s brain during birth. Fetal monitoring strips provide insight about a baby’s heart rate, which can be used as an indication of whether or not a baby is receiving enough oxygen. During delivery, it is crucial for your doctor to ensure that your baby is receiving enough oxygen, because even just a few minutes without oxygen can negatively impact their brain development.
With the help of multiple experts on liability and causation, Christopher Nyberg and Bradley Zimmerman settled the case for a significant amount during mediation.
