Woman suffers serious injury, alleges negligent medical care

While giving birth is considered a joyous time, it is also a time where medical issues could present themselves. Whether a patient is a new mother or has given multiple births, medical professionals are relied on caring for both the mother and her newborn.

California residents may be interested to learn that a woman has sued the hospital where she gave birth to her fourth child, a son, after suffering serious injuries and allegedly negligent care at the facility. The woman has filed a lawsuit against Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as its parent corporation, Tenet Health, for medical malpractice that she experienced during childbirth, as well as fraud.

The woman transferred her care to Brookwood Medical Center approximately halfway through her pregnancy based in part on the hospital's marketing campaign that promised patients "autonomy" and respect for the patient's "personalized birth plans." According to the plaintiff, instead of autonomy, she received aggressive, demoralizing and ultimately damaging medical treatment.

Upon arriving at the hospital in labor, the patient's doctor was not on call and the nurse caring for her refused to honor the plans the plaintiff had made with her doctor regarding her treatment, including wireless monitoring, a birthing tub and the ability to move around freely during labor.

The situation became more severe when the patient's contractions increased and the nurse physically forced the patient from her hands and knees onto her back. Then, supposedly, nurses negligently held the infant's head inside the patient for approximately six minutes in an effort to delay the mother's labor from progressing.

Since the birth, the plaintiff has suffered from a significant and permanent nerve injury, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. She is on medication to both curtail her pain and to prevent panic attacks. She is also is receiving therapy for the trauma she suffered.

The care that this woman received may have been a form of "obstetric violence," forceful and violent treatment against a patient during labor. It is alarming that such poor medical care occurs in our country today, but California residents will surely hope that this patient receives the help she needs to recover.

Source: Yahoo!, "Woman Sues Hospital Over Traumatic Birth That 'Turned Our Family Life Upside Down'," Beth Greenfield, Nov. 19, 2015