At Snyder & Wenner, we have been handling the most catastrophic and devastating birth injury cases in Arizona for over 40 years. We have seen the worst of the worst in terms of brain injuries and physical injuries. This news story out of Atlanta may take the honor as the worst birth malpractice, though.
Police are investigating after a lawsuit was filed in Clayton County, Georgia. A 20-year-old mom had her water break and she went to the emergency department at Prime Healthcare Service, otherwise known at Southern Regional Medical Center. She progressed to be fully dilated and was told to begin pushing. The records show that the baby was unable to descend down the birth canal as the doctors would expect because of shoulder dystocia. The doctor still attempted to deliver the baby vaginally, including by applying traction to the baby’s head. The doctor was unable to deliver the baby and decided to perform an emergency c-section. In what can only be described as a scene out of a horror movie, the doctor delivered the baby’s body and legs via c-section, but the baby’s head was then delivered vaginally. The doctor had decapitated the baby. When the parents asked to hold their child, the baby was reportedly “tightly wrapped in a blanket with his head ‘propped on top of his body’ to conceal the fact that he was decapitated.”
While this outcome is extreme and obviously uncommon, it is surprisingly NOT uncommon for OBGYNs and nurses to fail in their responsibilities of delivering a baby. The United States continues to have mind-boggling statistics when it comes to birth injuries, including cerebral palsy and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. These injuries most often occur when the doctor and/or nurses do not recognize that the baby is enduring oxygen loss. Something must be done to change these terrible outcomes.
