According to KPRC-TV, a Houston couple was left searching for answers after their newborn child died just four days after birth.
The news outlet reported that Allen Coats and his fiancée Rachel Melancon had a child, Olivia, who was delivered at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas in Houston. However, during birth the baby suffered complications and was rushed by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where Olivia died.
It was discovered by the couple that the doctor who delivered Olivia at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas was relieved of his duties about a month after her birth. Unsure as to how Olivia died, the couple sought an autopsy to determine why.
However, the couple was forced to wait four months while Memorial Hermann completed the autopsy, according to KRPC. The hospital told the news outlet that a clerical issue caused the delay in the autopsy, which showed that Olivia died from a brain injury caused by a fractured skull.
“I was so excited to be a mother. Reality hits whenever I visit her and I’m looking at a headstone,” said Melancon, according to KRPC.
Can I Sue My Healthcare Provider For My Child’s Death?
In this case, the family claims that a forceps delivery crushed Olivia’s skull and caused her brain damage. Aside from a brain injury, the use of forceps during birth can result in bruising, permanent indentations, severe cranial damage, excessive blood loss or cephalohematoma.
Forceps deliveries are risky, and it is becoming more common for obstetricians to be trained in alternative delivery methods like vacuum extraction. Doctors are obligated to protect a child and a mother from complications that may arise in a delivery. If a doctor uses forceps at the wrong stage of labor, the baby can suffer.
It is estimated that approximately one in 664 infants delivered using medical forceps sustains a brain injury.
The death of a newborn child is heartbreaking. In many cases, it is also preventable. Call us today at 1 (800) 460-0606 to schedule a free consultation if you have had to deal with this type of tragic loss.
[Did You Know: A cephalohematoma is a hemorrhage between the skull and periosteum of a newborn.]
