Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Chicago, IL: (May-31-07) The family of 5-year-old Peter Vlachos filed a medical malpractice suit against Northwestern Memorial Hospital, claiming that the boy suffered a severe brain injury during birth after hospital staff members allegedly mixed up his heart rate with his mother's pulse. Georgiann Vlachos delivered the boy May 24, 2002, at Prentice Women's Hospital, which is a part of the Northwestern system. Her obstetrician and nurse allegedly misinterpreted the boy's heart rate before the delivery and did not realize the baby was in fetal distress. The suit stated that Northwestern Memorial Hospital contended the baby was not breathing when he was born and that emergency staffers were not prepared to resuscitate him because of the monitoring error. The 7-minute lapse without oxygen caused the child to suffer from cerebral palsy, leaving his arms and legs paralyzed. A neonatal resuscitation team was not called to help the newborn until after he was delivered and appeared blue and limp, but as soon as the team arrived and placed a breathing tube in his airway, the baby's heart rate increased. As a result of the trauma, Peter Vlachos will never be able to walk or talk. In a settlement reached, the Vlachos family was awarded $14 million. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE: BABY DELIVERY MALPRACTICE]

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Published on May-31-07