According to the New York Daily News, a five-day-old baby from Texas died after her skull and spine were allegedly cracked by forceps during her delivery.
The baby, Olivia Marie, died after her doctor, George T. Backardjiev, of the Medical Center of Southeast Texas, reportedly refused to perform a cesarean section (C-section) on December 28, 2013.
Olivia’s mother, Rachel Melancon, reportedly asked the doctor about performing the procedure prior to the baby’s delivery because of her small size. Rachel is reportedly 4’11”, and had fears that her small frame might complicate a natural birthing process.
Backardjiev reportedly told family members that the C-section procedure would leave a scar on her body and cautioned against it. During labor, which lasted 18 hours, Olivia’s heart rate reportedly increased, but her mother was still told to wait before a procedure could take place.
Backardjiev reportedly told the Rachel that her baby was facing the wrong way and tried to turn Olivia Marie with his hands. That is when, according to the Daily News, the doctor began using forceps to pull the child out.
“When he touched the top and side of the skull, we heard a pop, like clay cracking in pottery and heard her skull crush,” mother-in-law Angie Coats said, according to the Daily News.
After the use of forceps failed, Rachel was reportedly rushed off for emergency cesarean. However, when Olivia was delivered, she was unable to breathe. She had suffered numerous skull fractures, the Daily News reported.
Allen Coats, 25, Olivia’s father, and his fiancée Rachel said they would sue Backardjiev, but not the Medical Center of Southeast Texas.
Find Me a Birth Injury Lawyer
It is well known that if a doctor uses forceps at the wrong stage of labor, the baby can suffer a brain injury, bruising, permanent indentations, severe cranial damage, excessive blood loss or cephalohematoma.
Physicians are obligated to protect the safety of the mother and child by not allowing delivery complications to result in injuries. Gestational diabetes in the mother, maternal or fetal bleeding complications, excessive administration of Pitocin, and placenta previa, should all be warning signs that a C-section may be necessary. The size of a child could also be a determining factor in a potential operation.
If you need to speak with a lawyer about your son or daughter’s injuries and/or his or her death, contact our birth injury attorneys. To schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys, call our firm at 1 (800) 460-0606.
[Did You Know: Each year, approximately one in 664 infants delivered using medical forceps sustains a brain injury.]
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – Birth Injury Attorneys
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/funeral-held-baby-died-forceps-delivery-article-1.1566828
