Wisconsin residents place a large measure of trust in the American medical system. We believe that our healthcare is among the best the world has to offer, and most people seek medical care with the belief that they will receive the best possible standard of care, each and every time. Unfortunately, this ideal is not always met, as evidenced by the many medical malpractice cases that make headlines across the nation.
One such lawsuit is currently underway, and focuses on the actions and inaction taken by the medical staff who were attending to the birth of a baby. The mother arrived at a hospital for an induced delivery. She was given a dose of Pitocin and Oxycontin around 5 a.m. to begin that process, and then placed under monitoring by hospital staff. The baby was delivered at 6:34 that evening.
According to the lawsuit, fetal monitoring systems showed that there were signs of fetal distress throughout the period between the mother being admitted and the time of birth. However, no action was taken by medical staff. At the time of birth, the infant had no heartbeat, was not breathing and was unresponsive. The child was pronounced dead nearly an hour after being delivered. The cause of death was eventually found to be asphyxia.
Within their medical malpractice lawsuit, the family has sued the hospital and multiple healthcare providers. They claim that had an emergency cesarean delivery been conducted, the child would have likely survived. No matter the outcome of this legal action, the family involved has gone through a terrible loss. As with any family in Wisconsin or elsewhere who has lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, they will likely never fully recover from this alteration to their family structure and their sense of outrage and disappointment that the medical system they trusted let them down at their greatest time of need.
Source: The-Dispatch.com, Mother files medical malpractice suit against LMC in death of baby, Darrick Ignasiak, Nov. 18, 2013
