$860,000 Settlement in Inadequate Fetal Monitoring Lawsuit

Ms. Doe was admitted to a hospital at 29 weeks gestation. At the time of her hospital admission, she was suffering from vaginal bleeding, and the fetus had decreased fetal movement. She began continuous fetal monitoring and experienced ongoing contractions. The fetal monitoring was unreliable in that the providers had difficulty obtaining and maintaining consistent fetal heart rate tracings.

Ms. Doe experienced decelerations and there was an inability to obtain fetal heart tones. She was then taken to a delivery room, where about 30 minutes passed without a documented fetal heart tracing.

Ms. Doe underwent an emergency Cesarean section, but her child was delivered in need of extensive resuscitation. Despite this effort, the child died. An autopsy revealed no congenital abnormalities.

Ms. Doe sued the hospital and several physicians, alleging failure to maintain continuous fetal monitoring and appropriately responding to fetal distress. Ms. Doe also alleged a delayed Cesarean section surgery and negligent resuscitation.

The defendants denied liability for the child’s death and argued that Ms. Doe’s care and treatment were appropriate under the circumstances. The defendants also asserted that the outcome was not preventable.

Before trial, the parties settled for $860,000.

The attorneys handling this lawsuit for Ms. Doe were Heather Baker Dobbs and Benjamin T. Ikuta.

Doe v. Roe Hospital, Confidential Docket.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling birth injury lawsuits, wrongful death cases, labor and delivery negligence lawsuits, and nursing home negligence cases for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 50 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Wauconda, Lake Forest, Itasca, Elgin, Waukegan, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Downers Grove, Naperville, Aurora, Grayslake, Highland Park, Chicago (Cragin, Avondale, Albany Park, Oriole Park, Ashburn, Englewood, Hyde Park, Burnside, Pullman, East Side, South Chicago, Bronzeville, Little Village, Lakeview, Logan Square), Melrose Park, Lombard, and Roselle, Ill.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.