An out-of-state mother had a baby that was born two months premature. Even so, like many in Illinois, she was happy to be a mother. Unfortunately, her baby suffered a fractured skull and some bruising while in the care of the staff at the hospital where her daughter was born. She subsequently filed a hospital negligence claim.
In her lawsuit, she claims that when she returned to the hospital to see her child, she noticed that she had suffered some sort of injury. The hospital staff member who was there told the woman that she was giving the baby a bath. For some reason, she turned her back on the wiggling baby for somewhere between two seconds and two minutes. During that brief span of time, the baby fell to the floor, a distance of approximately three feet.
The woman asked for a doctor, who told her that children are resilient and parents drop their babies often. This was not the response that the new mother wanted — especially after she had not been notified of the incident when it happened. The mother has photographs of the bruises on her child’s hip and head. Under these circumstances, it might be easy for most Illinois parents to see why the North Carolina mother filed a lawsuit.
When parents entrust the care of their children to a hospital, they expect the staff to treat their children with the same care they would. Sadly, that is not always the case. Successfully litigating a hospital negligence claim could provide parents with the resources they need in order to care for a child who is permanently injured due to receiving substandard care. As an aside, it could also help prevent others from going through the same thing.
Source: wokv.com, “Mother accuses hospital of dropping infant, fracturing skull”, Allison Latos, Dec. 9, 2015