A former inmate in Summit County jail in Akron, Ohio, claims in a lawsuit that her newborn baby died and she suffers from permanent medical problems because she was denied treatment by authorities while she was in prison, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Kristie Guiser, who was only five months pregnant, allegedly gave birth at Akron General Medical Center in March 2010, then went into a coma for two weeks, the lawsuit contends. The 28-year-old's premature baby, Donald, reportedly only lived for a few hours, according to the lawsuit. Guiser claims that medical workers and deputies at the jail ignored [...]

A family from Bayonne, New Jersey, recently agreed to an $8.5 million settlement with the Bayonne Medical Center in the case of a birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit, the Jersey Journal reports. According to the news source, Emily Ordonez claims she went to the hospital in August 2005 during her first stages of labor and prenatal tests indicated that the baby was healthy. However, approximately eight hours later, a fetal heart monitor indicated that the baby's heart rate dropped significantly, according to the lawsuit. Telephone records indicate that the delivery room nurse waited nearly a half hour before calling the [...]

Missouri couple Amanda and Josh Gardner were recently asked to detail the few days that their newborn son Raheem was alive before they decided to take him off life support, the Springfield News-Leader reports. Raheem was reportedly taken off life support just four days after he was born and the midwife used by the Gardners has been charged with being responsible for the newborn's death, according to the news provider. Elaine Diamond, 53, is alleged to have allowed Amanda Gardner to spend nearly three days in labor prior to taking her to a hospital. At the recent hearing, two doctors [...]

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Washington, was recently ordered to pay a West Richland couple more than $257,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit that centered around a piece of plastic tubing that was left inside their premature baby, the News Tribune reports. A jury on November 24 unanimously found that the hospital acted negligently in the incident, the news source said. However, only one member of the jury found negligence on the part of the neonatologist, Dr. Miriam Zaragoza, who the lawsuit claims left the tubing inside the baby for an extra day after discovering it. Jim Hall, a [...]

A jury recently awarded $2.3 million in damages to a 4-year-old Virginia Beach, Virginia boy who suffered arm injuries when he was born, the Virginian-Pilot reports. A Virginia Beach attorney told the news provider that the Circuit Court jury also awarded $60,000 to the mother of the child, Cory Spollen, to reimburse her for medical expenses. According to the attorney, the child's right arm is permanently disabled. In the lawsuit, nurse-midwife Rhonda Bertholf and the medical practice with which she was associated, Dr. Richard M. Valentine Jr., were named as defendants, according to the news source. The attorney told the [...]

The death of a newborn who was critically ill in an ambulance on the way to Seattle Children's Hospital has been ruled the result of natural causes, according to the King County Medical Examiner.  The case is being investigated by the Washington Department of Health because a hospital nurse who gave the baby medication in the ambulance allegedly did not follow proper protocol, the Seattle Times reports. According to the autopsy, the baby died of multiple congenital malformations, including in her brainstem, which were associated with chromosomal abnormalities. In late September, medical director Dr. David Fisher had said that the [...]

Nicknamed the "mechanical mom," the Mobile Obstetric Emergencies Simulator (MOES) is a training mannequin that could help the Department of Defense to improve delivery practices. The simulator, which was designed by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Shad Deering and staff at the Charles Andersen Simulation Center in Washington, is expected to help avoid deaths that are linked to maternal emergencies during birth. The simulator features a full-size birthing mannequin and a system that can display the vital signs of the mother and fetus, while also simulating some of the most common obstetric emergencies, according to the U.S. Army's website. A number of [...]

Three hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area are facing fines that range from $25,000 to $75,000 for medical errors, the Bay Citizen reports.  The hospitals are being fined by the California Department of Public Health. Since January 2007, California has assessed $5.3 million in similar penalties and 39 fines are currently being appealed, according to the news provider. In one of the incidents, a premature baby was given a blood thinner at many times the prescribed dose, leading to the child's hospital stay being extended. "The amount that was going to be given to this very small child was [...]

A $30,000 doll that simulates a newborn baby has become a lifelike neonatal training tool that will help St. Joseph's Hospital in Mankato, Minnesota, avoid medical errors during delivery, the Mankato Free Press reports. The doll, which can whine, cry and even move, simulates a newborn weighing seven pounds and can exhibit 12 different pre-programmed situations that imitate the behavior of the baby. Christina Dahl, a registered nurse at the hospital can put the doll through its various scenarios using a computer. The ability to change the doll's emotions and symptoms during a training session gives hospital staff real-life training [...]

An Air Force captain and his wife are suing the military branch, claiming errors were made by doctors and nurses that led to the death of their 6-month-old son, the Air Force Times reports. The lawsuit was filed by Captain Brian McGinnis and his wife, Kristin, in September, shortly after the Air Force offered compensation of $25,000 for the death of their son, Soren. According to autopsy results, Soren McGinnis died of multiple organ failure at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the hospital located at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. In the medical malpractice lawsuit, the parents contend that Soren [...]