$4.75 Million for Michigan Child with Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Delays from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (Lack of Oxygen to the Brain) and Delayed Delivery

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE); Birth Asphyxia attorneys

A young mother treated prenatally with a family practice physician. Neither she nor her husband spoke English. Prenatal care was uneventful. Her prenatal doctor sent her to a hospital for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a 17 day discrepancy between her last menstrual period and the size measurements of the ultrasound. Three and ½ months later, she was having spotting and contractions. She went to the hospital again. No translator was brought in. Her initial blood pressure was elevated though not considered abnormal. She was placed on a fetal monitor. Lab studies and urinalysis for protein were not performed. The earlier ultrasound suggested that she was past her due date. She was discharged from the hospital. A few days later she again presented at the hospital at the direction of her prenatal care doctor. Her complaint in triage was "bleeding x 4 days." An emergency C-section was performed for non-reassuring fetal heart tones. The baby, however, suffered from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Hypothermia head cooling treatment was not successful.  The baby was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit and spent seven weeks in the hospital. He was later diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and speech and language delays.