$31.6 Million Birth Injury Verdict: On May 25, 2023, a Michigan medical malpractice birth injury jury returned its verdict in the amount of $31.6 million after a three-week trial and nine hours of jury deliberations. The now four-year-old child suffered hypoxia during labor that caused severe permanent brain damage and resulted in the child suffering cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, and a seizure disorder.
The mother had been given Pitocin, a hormone used to induce labor or to strengthen uterine contractions, during labor at MyMichigan Medical Center-Midland. The plaintiffs’ Michigan medical malpractice birth injury lawsuit alleged that fetal monitoring strips showed that the baby was in distress due to excessive uterine activity from the Pitocin. The plaintiffs argued that the fetal distress required the medical staff to provide an immediate emergency cesarean section delivery and to stop the administration of Pitocin. Because the hospital medical staff failed to do so, the baby suffered her catastrophic brain injury.
The parents’ medical malpractice attorney stated after the verdict: “The minor here, Kendall, is severely injured and will forever be permanently disabled. The verdict in this case can never bring Kendall back, but it does provide her justice for her horrible injuries. It shows that no matter where you are, even in the smallest of counties, justice can be served when the facts deserve it.”
MyMichigan Medical Center-Midland issued a statement on May 26, 2023 that stated: “MyMichigan Health sympathizes with the family and the challenges they have faced and will face. While we sympathize with the family, we disagree with the verdict and stand behind the care delivered by our health care team.”
Pitocin Use During Labor And Delivery
The FDA states on its website that Pitocin (oxytocin injection, USP) is a sterile, clear, colorless aqueous solution of
synthetic oxytocin, for intravenous infusion or intramuscular injection. The FDA warns that medical staff electronically monitor the uterine activity and the fetal heart rate throughout the infusion of Pitocin. Attention should be given to tonus, amplitude and frequency of contractions, and to the fetal heart rate in relation to uterine contractions. If
uterine contractions become too powerful, the infusion can be abruptly stopped, and oxytocic stimulation of the uterine musculature will soon wane. Discontinue the infusion of Pitocin immediately in the event of uterine hyperactivity and/or fetal distress. Administer oxygen to the mother, who preferably should be put in a lateral position. The condition of mother and fetus should immediately be evaluated by the responsible physician and appropriate
steps taken.
If you or a loved one suffered serious injury (or worse) as a result of a birth injury in Michigan or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Michigan medical malpractice birth injury lawyer, or a birth injury medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your birth medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a birth medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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