Yes. Hospitals have a duty to ensure patient safety and prevent foreseeable injuries. Roughly 1 in 5 labors involve induction, including through the use of labor drugs like Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) and Cytotec (misoprostol) (1). If these drugs are used improperly, or the baby and mother are not properly monitored during their use, the baby can become extremely oxygen-deprived and develop a permanent brain injury, called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This can result in cerebral palsy (CP), and intellectual and developmental disabilities (2).

Items that can constitute negligence on behalf of a hospital system include:

Administering too much Pitocin or Cytotec
Not recognizing that a baby is not getting enough oxygen on the fetal monitor
Not providing the mother with informed consent about the risks.
Not following hospital protocols in for use of Pitocin or Cytotec.
Not properly training it’s physicians and nurses or having qualified physicians and nurses on staff
Not recognizing and treating excessive uterine activity and fetal heart rate changes that indicate the baby is not tolerating labor (signs of fetal distress).
Not delivering in time when a baby is not getting enough oxygen
Not changing the plan from vaginal birth to cesarean section and delivering in time to prevent a baby from suffering brain injury from not getting enough oxygen

Hospitals are liable if they fail to uphold standards of care

A hospital system has a duty to (3):

Use reasonable care in the maintenance of safe and adequate facilities and equipment;
Select and retain only competent physicians;
Oversee all people who practice medicine within its walls as to patient care; and
Formulate, adopt, and enforce adequate rules and policies to ensure quality care for patients
Be able to perform a cesarean section in time to prevent a baby from suffering a brain injury from not getting enough oxygen (HIE)
Have a qualified staff able to recognize when a baby is not getting enough oxygen and deliver in time to prevent brain injury. .

Courts have held that hospitals have a duty to act and protect patients when the likelihood of some type of harm is sufficiently foreseeable that a reasonable hospital can anticipate the risk of injury. This means that when high alert and off-label drugs are used, hospitals must:

Have labor induction drug education programs for the medical team to ensure they are adequately trained and qualified
Have protocols in place for use of high-risk and off-label drugs
Inform mothers about the risks of Pitocin and Cytotec before they are used
Obtain informed consent from the mother

Due to the grave risks associated with Pitocin and Cytotec, education of the medical team must include training and information regarding the following topics:

How to recognize excessive uterine activity (uterine tachysystole) and abnormal fetal heart rate patterns
How to perform timely and meaningful interventions when excessive uterine contractions and abnormal fetal heart rate patterns occur.
- Interventions include delivery by emergency C-section, which is the only reliable method of removing a baby from oxygen-depriving conditions. It is negligence if a hospital gives a mother Pitocin or Cytotec and does not have the capability to quickly deliver the baby by C-section.

The risks of Pitocin and Cytotec have long been recognized, and researchers have concluded that the well-being of the fetus may be in jeopardy when drug-induced uterine tachysystole (hyperstimulation) occurs during labor. It therefore is very important that the drugs be used only when necessary and that hospitals have procedures in place to educate and train the medical team on proper use of these drugs. In addition, the medical team must be trained on how to properly monitor the mother and baby and perform timely interventions when needed (2).

Legal help for birth injury from Pitocin and Cytotec mistakes

If your labor was induced using Pitocin and/or Cytotec and your child has been diagnosed with a permanent disability, such as HIE or cerebral palsy, call the birth injury attorneys at ABC Law Centers (Reiter & Walsh, P.C.). We have been securing the future of children with birth injuries for over two decades. Partners Jesse Reiter and Rebecca Walsh are recognized as two of the best medical malpractice lawyers in America by U.S. News and World Report, which further recognizes ABC Law Centers as one of the best medical malpractice law firms in the nation. The lawyers at ABC Law Centers have won numerous awards for their advocacy of children and are members of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) and other notable organizations. Our firm has numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements that attest to our success, and no fees are ever paid to our firm unless we win your case.

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Related resources

Video: Pitocin and birth asphyxia

Watch a video of birth injury lawyers Jesse Reiter and Rebecca Walsh discussing birth asphyxia and its causes, which include mismanagement of Pitocin during labor and delivery.

Sources:

Marygrace, Taylor. What Is Pitocin Induction? 20 Apr. 2020, www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/labor-and-delivery/pitocin-induction/.
Pitocin and Birth Injury Cases: No Fee Unless We Win. www.abclawcenters.com/practice-areas/prenatal-birth-injuries/labor-and-delivery-medication-errors/pitocin-and-oxytocin/.
Reiter, Jesse. What Is Standard of Care? 15 Feb. 2018, www.abclawcenters.com/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-standard-of-care/.

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