Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has placed obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Scott Pierce on probation for one year and fined him $500. Pierce is accused of mistreating a pregnant woman while she was in labor with her fifth child.

The patient, Catherine Skol, sued Pierce for Chicago medical malpractice in Cook County last December. Skol delivered her baby at Rush University Medical Center in March 2008.

According to her Chicago medical malpractice complaint, Pierce, who was filling in for Skol’s doctor, arrived at the hospital four hours after she got there, scolded her for not calling first, and wouldn't give her any pain medicine. He is accused of telling a nurse that the patient deserved to feel pain for failing to let them know that she was coming to the hospital.

Skol also contends that Pierce performed a painful vaginal exam while she was experiencing a contraction and told her to push even though she wasn’t fully dilated. She says he told her to shut up, keep her mouth shut, and push. She says she and her husband became afraid to complain after Pierce allegedly told her she could hemorrhage and the baby could die.

Skol says that while she was in labor, Pierce made hostile cell phone calls to other people and then used a very large needle to give her unnecessary stitches after the birth.

Following an investigation into the incident, Rush University Medical Center suspended Pierce’s privileges there. Pierce has is own private in Melrose Park.

If you or your child suffered injuries during delivery, you may have grounds for filing a Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit. Your obstetrician-gynecologist is supposed to provide you with a certain standard of care. Failure to provide that level of care can be grounds for a Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit if you or your child suffered physical or emotional harm as a result.

Doctor disciplined for allegedly chastising Chicago-area woman in labor and denying her pain medication, Chicago Tribune, July 22, 2009

Woman: Doctor Told Me to "Shut Up and Push," NBC Chicago, January 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice and Childbirth, Wrong Diagnosis

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation

In Winnebago County, Illinois, the family of 4-year-old Jeremy Law has agreed to settle its birthing malpractice lawsuit with a Rockford hospital for $12 million. This is the largest personal injury settlement to ever be issued in this county. Jeremy now has Cerebral palsy.

Patricia Law was admitted to St. Anthony Medical Center's labor and delivery area on November 7, 2004. A nurse gave her Pitocin to induce labor. Dr. Fernando has stated under oath that he gave Patricia the drug because nursing workers had told him that the baby was positioned heads-down and ready to be delivered. He says he would have performed a Caesarian birth if he had been notified that the baby was in breech position.

Even though the baby’s fetal heart beat became irregular, the nurse administered more Pitocin and did not conduct a vaginal exam to check the baby’s position. Some 15 minutes later, the baby experienced bradycardia and there was not enough oxygen traveling to his brain. It wasn’t until 20 minutes later that Jeremy was delivered by emergency Caesarean.

According to the Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit , hospital staffers neglected to identify that Jeremy was positioned in his mother’s womb for a breech delivery, neglected to detect signs of fetal distress, and neglected to deliver him by Caesarean procedure in a timely manner. Because of their medical negligence, the complaint contends that Jeremy sustained major brain damage because he did not receive enough oxygen during his delivery.

Pediatric neurologists have told the Laws that Jeremy’s developmental age will not go beyond what is now—that of a 2-month-old infant. He will continue to physically develop but he won’t be able to roll over, hold his head up, crawl, sit, stand, or grasp.

Illinois Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits
In order to prove that your child was the victim of birthing malpractice that caused his or her Cerebral palsy, you will need the help of an experienced Chicago birthing malpractice lawyer that understands the complexities involved in these kinds of Illinois medical malpractice cases. In many cases, a child with Cerebral palsy will require specialized medical attention and nursing care for life. The financial toll is generally too much for a family to carry without obtaining obtaining damages from all negligent parties.

You and your child may be entitled to Illinois birthing malpractice damages for the devastating harm, pain, and suffering that all of you must now endure.

$12 Million Settlement in Birth Injury Lawsuit Against OSF Healthcare, Business Wire, May 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page

Cerebral Palsy Program/Guide

In Illinois, a woman is suing a number medical care providers for medical malpractice. Anastasia Parker claims that because she was injected with radioactive iodine while she was pregnant, her daughter Taelor Hannah was born with hypothyroidism and will have to undergo medical treatment for the condition for the duration of her life. Parker is seeking a judgment over $500,000 plus costs.

In 2006, Parker underwent a thyroidectomy. She then had to be administered radioactive iodine on more than one occasion. Dr. Wael Girgis and Dr. Mohamed Megahy, however, failed to make sure that she wasn’t pregnant before administering the radioactive iodine injections.

Parker’s Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit contends that as a result, her daughter, who was born on August 3, 2007, was soon after diagnosed with hypothyroidism. The complaint says that because Parker was injected with radioactive iodine while pregnant with Taelor Hannah, the toddler is at higher risk of cognitive deficits, developmental delays, mental retardation, and cancer. Parker also blames the defendants for failing to tell her about the risks of taking radioactive iodine and of not talking to the proper doctors before administering the injections to her.

The defendants in Parker’s Illinois civil lawsuit are Dr. Megahy, Dr. Girgis, Belleville Oncology, Maryville Oncology, and Memorial Hospital.

Doctors are supposed to make sure that anything that they administer to a patient will not cause injury or other harm to him or her. They owe it to all of their patients to provide no less than a certain standard of care, and failure to provide that care can be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit if a patient gets hurt, even more sick, or dies.

If your son or daughter is born with an illness, injury, or condition that occurred because your doctor or another medical provider was negligent, careless, reckless, or made a mistake, you also may have grounds to file an Illinois birthing malpractice lawsuit.

Woman treated for thyroid condition sues doctors for not administering pregnancy test, The Record, March 31, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Hypothyroidism in Children, EHealthMD.com

Hypothyroidism, MayoClinic.com

A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development shows that scheduling a Caesarean birth for convenience, rather than necessity, can increase the chances the baby will be born with what could be serious birth complications. The report comes as health officials express alarm at how the number of Caesarean births taking place in the US is at a record high.

Over 1/3rd of babies in the US are now born via C-section. Why this increase has occurred is unclear. One reason may be that more women are having babies at a later age, which can increase the chances of birth complications. While the American College of Obstetricians suggests that mothers do not undergo elective repeat C-sections sooner than her 39th week of pregnancy, elective C-sections do take place earlier in a woman's pregnancy.

There are many valid medical reasons to deliver a baby by Caesarean. However, once a woman has delivered her baby surgically, rather than vaginally, she is more likely to undergo the same procedure in the future. Reasons why a woman might elect to deliver by Caesarean include, excitement to see the baby as soon as possible, fitting into a preferred obstetrician’s schedule, and convenience.

Data for the study came from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Among the findings:

• 24,077 women had a repeat C-section between 1999 and 2002.
• 13,258 of these Caesarean births were elective. This means there was no medical reason for why the mother couldn’t deliver her baby vaginally.
• 36% of the deliveries took place earlier than 39 weeks.
• Over 15% of the babies who were delivered at 37 weeks experienced complications, including low blood sugar, breathing problems, respiratory distress, and medical conditions requiring intensive care.

More about the study can be found in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Early Repeat C-Sections Increase Risks, Study Finds, Washington Post, January 8, 2009

Caesarean problems increase, News-Leader.com, January 26, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

New England Journal of Medicine

CaesareanBirth.com

Birthing Errors
If you believe your son or daughter sustained a birth complication because you received the wrong medical advice or because mistakes were made during delivery, you may be entitled to birthing malpractice compensation.

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