No mother should have to endure the trauma of seeing her child suffer a debilitating injury. When a child injury happens under the care of a physician during childbirth, the child's quality of life can be irreparably harmed at the very outset of life.

Mothers and children are especially vulnerable to physician errors during childbirth. They need to be able to trust that the doctors and medical staff are attentive and giving them the best quality of healthcare. All too often, a baby is harmed by a physician's negligence or inattentiveness.

A recent lawsuit involving substandard healthcare shows how a birth injury can have long lasting impacts on a family. In February 2007, an expectant mother went to the hospital for what should have been a joyous event, the planned induction of labor and delivery of her baby daughter.

According to the mother's lawsuit, fetal monitoring strips let the hospital staff and attending physician know that the baby was in distress and likely in a low-oxygen environment. Hospital nurses called for the attending physician about 15 times, but he ignored their pleas and wanted the woman to have her baby naturally.

Instead of performing a C-section, the hospital staff told the mother to continue pushing while the baby was in an oxygen-depleted environment. To make matters worse, hospital staff told the woman to hold her breath, further depriving the baby of oxygen. After about an hour and a half of pushing, the baby was delivered. However, the baby girl suffered severe birth injuries due to being deprived of oxygen.

Now four years old, the girl has spastic quadriplegia and has an intellectual level of a six-month-old baby. According to the lawsuit, she cannot stand, sit or walk, and she will need specialized care for the rest of her life.

This month, the hospital agreed to settle the lawsuit and will pay the mother a $700,000 settlement. The lawsuit against the physician is still pending.

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, "Memorial pays $700,000 settlement to injured child of undocumented immigrant," Daniel Chacon, 6 July 2011