Hawaii Injury Lawyer Blog

Plaintiff’s contended that nurses and physicians failed to appreciate non-reassuring indications during the labor process and that an expedited c-section would have prevented the child’s injuries. The fetal heart tracing revealed persistent variable decelerations followed by severe and prolonged decelerations and bradycardia thirty seven minutes prior to delivery. The child was transferred to a tertiary hospital where she responded remarkably well to a cooling protocol for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The child’s neurologic examinations were near normal and there was scant, if any, evidence of a cognitive injury. She was walking at ten months, communicating well at eighteen months and expected to be mainstreamed in the public school system. She was diagnosed with a mild left hemiparesis and gastrointestinal disorder; neither condition requiring attendant care.

This case involved neonatal injuries to premature triplets. One child was seriously injured and the other two were significantly less involved. The injuries were caused by a condition which can be treated if timely diagnosed. It is a common problem in premature infants. We contended that the hospital, neonatologist, and pediatricians failed to properly follow up and screen these children and failed to diagnose the condition in a timely manner. The defendants contended that the mother had been properly warned about the condition and failed to obtain exams in a timely fashion after the triplets were discharged from the hospital. This confidential settlement was believed to be the largest of its type in the history of the state at the time.