Medical Verdicts

Did flawed clamping lead to cerebral palsy?


 

Kings County (NY) Supreme Court

A woman delivered an infant girl, who soon after birth went into hypovolemic shock. She was immediately brought to intensive care, but now suffers cerebral palsy, quadriparesis, and mental retardation.

The plaintiff claimed physicians did not adequately clamp the umbilical cord before it was cut; this led to bleeding from the cord and, ultimately, the hypovolemia that caused her current condition.

The defense contended bleeding at birth was minimal and the child’s injuries stemmed from an intrauterine condition.

  • The case settled for $4.8 million.
The cases in this column are selected by the editors of OBG Management from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts, with permission of the editor, Lewis Laska, of Nashville, Tenn (www.verdictslaska.com). While there are instances when the available information is incomplete, these cases represent the types of clinical situations that typically result in litigation.

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