In the early morning on September 22, 2005, Maria Rojas entered St. Anthony Hospital in labor. An OB Triage nurse immediately began electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) to determine the status of the fetus. The EFM immediately showed signs of fetal compromise including minimal variability and an absence of fetal heart rate accelerations. This was missed by the OB Triage nurse and by the Nurse Midwife assigned to supervise OB Triage. Over the next several hours the EFM worsened to include late decelerations which continued to go unrecognized and unreported by the OB Triage nurses until the fetal heart rate became bradycardic and the House OB called for an emergency c-section. The baby was born with profound brain damage. Dr. Patel, the attending OB, denied any knowledge of the deteriorating EFM. The Defendants claimed the baby’s brain was damaged prior to entering the hospital due to maternal immunologic reaction as evidenced by a placenta with chronic villitis, multiple infarcts and severe lymphocytic intervillositis. The Defense dated the fetal insult to one or two months prior to admission based on a body-wide rash the mother suffered at that time.

[JORGE ROJAS, a minor, by his parents and next Friends, LEONEL ROJAS and MARIA ROJAS; and LEONEL ROJAS and MARIA ROJAS, Individually, Plaintiffs, vs. CATHOLIC HEALTH PARTNERS SERVICES, an Illinois Corporation d/b/a ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL; MUKESH PATEL, M.D., and MUKESH PATEL, M.D., S.C., an Illinois Corporation. Defendants.]

On October 5, 2003 the infant was born several weeks premature, but in stable condition. The baby was placed in a special unit in the hospital so that he could grow and further develop prior to discharge. At around three weeks of age, a feeding tube was inserted so that the baby could receive his routine two hour feeding. Unfortunately, the tube was placed into the lung space rather than into the stomach, and the next three feedings were each given into the lung space.

After the third such feeding, the baby suffered respiratory arrest. Emergency resuscitation measures were immediately begun, but were initially unsuccessful because no one suspected the real cause of the arrest. During the course of the resuscitation, a chest tube was placed into the lung for a possible pnuemothorax, and milk immediately began to flow out of the chest tube. With this knowledge the resuscitation team was able to revive the infant, but oxygen deprivation had already caused brain damage.

The child, now 5½ years old, suffers from brain damage and spastic quadriplegia. These injuries are permanent, and will have a profound effect not only on the child, but on his parents who have had to provide 24-hour care for their child since the time of this incident.

“This tragic situation is only made worse by the knowledge that this could have been totally avoided if routine tube placement verification procedures had been followed by the nursing staff,” said attorney David J. Pritchard, “Nonetheless, the family is grateful that the hospital has stepped forward to settle this case and to make sure the child receives the best of care.”

It is alleged that there was a failure to timely diagnose and treat a group beta strep infection in the newborn baby which developed into meningitis resulting in cerebral palsy. The obstetrician and pediatrician involved were employed by Erie Family Health Center which is federally funded clinic that must be sued in Federal Court under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The labor, delivery and newborn care occurred at Northwestern Memorial Hospital; and it was alleged that the nursing personnel failed to invoke the chain of command when the obstetrician and pediatrician failed to recognize continuing and increasing signs and symptoms of neonatal infection. Northwestern and its employees have now settled out of the case, and the case continues against the US Government.

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