A Florida birth injury medical malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $2 million for the parents of a stillborn baby. The parents alleged that medical negligence caused the baby to be born stillborn at 38 weeks after the pregnant woman developed preeclampsia. The stillborn baby was noted at birth to have a severe cleft deformity.
An ultrasound at 20 weeks gestation concluded with the sonographer reporting that she was unable to visualize the baby’s face, nose, and lips. The ultrasound was later interpreted by a radiologist, who reported no facial or oral defects.
The parents’ Florida medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that had the baby’s cleft deformity been properly diagnosed as a result of the 20-week anatomical ultrasound, the mother’s care would have been transferred from a midwife to an obstetrician, which would have resulted in the baby being born alive. The defense argued that it was the midwife’s negligence that led to the stillborn birth.
Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip
Early in pregnancy, tissues that form a baby’s mouth and lips fuse together. A cleft, or gap, happens when these tissues do not align. The cleft can be on one side (unilateral) or on both sides (bilateral).
A cleft can occur in the lip or in the roof of the mouth, affecting the palate. Clefts range from small openings in the back of the mouth to large gaps affecting most of the roof of the mouth.
Clefts may occur in the lip, palate or both. Cleft lip and cleft palate together is most common.
A cleft lip is often diagnosed during pregnancy by a routine ultrasound. A cleft palate is usually diagnosed after birth because the inside of a baby’s mouth cannot be seen on an ultrasound. Only about 7% of isolated cleft palates are diagnosed before birth.
A cleft palate may affect only the soft palate (fleshy tissue at the back of the mouth). It may not be visible. The first sign of the cleft may be trouble latching on to the breast or bottle, or inconsistent suction when nursing.
Other types of clefts may not be diagnosed until later in childhood. For example, a submucous cleft palate is a cleft in the roof of the mouth that is usually covered by skin.
Cleft lip and cleft palate are common birth defects, and the most common medical issue affecting the head and neck. Each year in the United States, about 2,650 babies are born with a cleft palate and about 4,440 babies are born with a cleft lip, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ultrasound and Cleft Palate
Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is the most common fetal craniofacial malformation that is screened during prenatal ultrasonographic examination. The sensitivity of routine transabdominal ultrasonic scan at 20-weeks’ gestation varies from 16 % to 93 %, indicating a considerable proportion of misdiagnosis.
If you or your baby suffered a birth injury (or worse) during labor, delivery, or shortly after birth in Florida or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Florida birth injury lawyer, or a birth injury lawyer in your state, who may investigate your birth injury claim for you and represent you and your child in a birth injury medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click on the “Contact Us Now” tab to the right, visit our website, or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find birth injury attorneys in your state who may assist you.
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