Failure To Timely And Properly Treat Injury – Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain

Lawsuit Against Sanford Clinic North And Sanford Bemedji Medical Center | July 16th, 2018 - Beltami County, Minnesota

On July 16, 2018, WVFO attorney Stephen Offutt filed a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a minor who suffered a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
According to the complaint, the child’s mother was admitted to Sanford Bemidji Medical Center in labor in May 2017. The child’s mother was admitted to the labor and delivery department and was eventually hooked to a fetal heart rate monitor. The fetal heart rate tracing was non-reassuring for an extended period and despite growing signs of fetal distress, there is no evidence that intrauterine resuscitative measures were employed in an attempt to normalize the fetal heart rate or re-oxygenate the baby in utero. The situation deteriorated over time and the child was eventually delivered spontaneously. The child was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure secondary to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to properly and timely respond to the child’s condition and failed to timely and properly treat the child’s deteriorating clinical status. As a result, the child is developmentally delayed due to the severe hypoxic-ischemic injury. As a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ negligence, the child suffers from permanent physical and mental impairments that she will never recover from, and which will require a lifetime of care and treatment.

The action is pending in the District Court of Beltrami County, Minnesota.