In our last post, we talked about birth injuries and how they can absolutely devastate a family. Though you may initially think that a birth injury applies to the newborn, it can also apply to the mother. This is one of the key points from our last post, and it is also the jumping-off point for this one, as a recent medical malpractice lawsuit was won by a woman who suffered paralysis due to a stroke after giving birth.
The backstory is a bit complicated, but here it goes: the woman felt lightheaded after running the Boston Marathon in 2004. It turned out she had “brain abnormalities” that required her to be placed on a special list that other doctors could see if she ever needed medical care.
A few years passed, presumably without incident. The woman became pregnant and had her child. But hours after the birth, the woman suffered a stroke and is now paralyzed. This happened because back in 2004, the doctor who saw her for the “brain abnormalities” never put her on that special list. When she went in for the delivery procedure, the medical team had no idea she had brain abnormalities or that they should take precautions for the birth.
The medical facility that treated her for the dizziness and a physician who treated the woman were the defendants in the medical malpractice case, and it was recently completed. The woman won $35 million for the terrible medical care and subsequent mistakes that were made.
Source: Boston Globe, “7 years after stroke, paralyzed woman awarded $35m,” Travis Andersen, May 8, 2015
