Personal Injury Law

$9.5 Million Kane County, Illinois Birthing Malpractice Settlement Reached in Cerebral Palsy Case Against Elgin Hospital, Obstetrician, and Midwife

A $9.5 million cerebral palsy settlement has been reached in the Illinois medical malpractice case against Sherman Hospital, the employer of nurse midwife Mary Traub, and Dr. Jae Eun Han. The Kane County complaint was filed on behalf of the family of Patrick O'Came, who was born in 1996. Patrick, who was cerebral palsy, will required specialized care for life.

According to the plaintiffs? Illinois birthing malpractice lawsuit, during delivery. Traub employed ?fundal pressure? to help push Patrick, who was in distress, through the birth canal. The complaint contends that it was the use of this technique that cut off the oxygen that was flowing through the baby?s umbilical cord for a long enough period of time that he ended up being born with cerebral palsy.

The plaintiffs also say that the hospital did not follow proper procedure when Traub delivered O?Came without Dr. Jae Eun Han present. Han, who was her sponsoring obstetrician, was out of the country at the time visiting relatives in Korea. Although a backup doctor was appointed, the physician was not told about the problem soon enough that an alternative course of delivery could be recommended. The plaintiffs? birth injury lawyer contends that Patrick would have been born a healthy baby if only his mother had been given the proper medical care while a supervising physician was present.

Birthing Malpractice
Chicago, Illinois birthing malpractice can lead to serious health complications for the baby that can impair him/her for life. Examples of birthing mistakes:

? Failure to anticipate birth complications
? Not acting right away to remedy umbilical cord entrapment
? Delayed cesarean delivery
? Forceps errors
? Vacuum extractor mistakes
? Delayed response to fetal distress
? Failure to properly monitor the vitals of the baby and mother
? Pitocin overdose
? Delayed delivery

Sherman agrees to lawsuit settlement, Daily Herald, April 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page, National Institutes of Health

Fundal Pressure, Childbirthconnection.org

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on April 24, 2010 (boomark / email).