Lawsuit Information Center
In October, an $8.9 million birth injury malpractice payout was awarded against a Minnesota midwife. This case underscores the danger of failing to accurately estimate the fetal size and weight before delivery.
This post looks at this Minnesota birth injury lawsuit and provides sample fetal macrosomia settlement amounts and jury awards.
Our lawyers handle fetal macrosomia lawsuits throughout the country. If you want to bring a claim or have a question about your claim, call our birth injury attorneys at 800-553-8082.
Facts in This Fetal Macrosomia Lawsuit
The plaintiff, a mother from a small town in Eastern Minnesota, sued the certified nurse-midwife from Allina Health negligently mishandling the delivery of her son in January 2016.
This was the plaintiff’s second child and throughout her pregnancy, she repeatedly told her midwife at Allina Health that the baby felt considerably larger with this pregnancy. The midwife reassured her that the baby was normal-sized and estimated that he would be around 6 pounds at birth. Unfortunately for the midwife, this weight estimate turned out to be disastrously wrong.
Fetal Macrosomia
Fetal macrosomia is the medical term used to describe a baby that is oversized (4000 grams at term) for its gestational age. Any full-term baby over 9 pounds is considered macrosomic.
A variety of factors can contribute to fetal macrosomia. These include maternal obesity or diabetes, a previous birth of a large baby, gestational age (pregnancy that extends beyond 40 weeks), and certain genetic factors. Fetal macrosomia can increase the likelihood of labor complications, such as prolonged labor, a higher chance of delivery by cesarean section, postpartum hemorrhage, and injuries to the baby during vaginal birth. For the infant, the risks can include shoulder dystocia (where the baby’s shoulders become lodged in the mother’s pelvic bone), fractures, nerve damage, and a higher likelihood of obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life.
Advance diagnosis of fetal macrosomia before delivery is extremely important because it almost always requires a preemptive C-section. If the baby is too big (macrosomic) vaginal childbirth can be very dangerous. Big babies have trouble fitting through the mother’s birth and canal and tend to get dangerously stuck during delivery.
Diagnosis of fetal macrosomia may seem like a very simple task, but it is actually very difficult even with modern imaging technology. Estimating fetal weight during pregnancy is notoriously tricky. The best predictor of fetal macrosomia is first-trimester material body mass index. So doctors should often be on the alert early in a pregnancy. But even with sonograms and ultrasounds, there is no sound method of measuring a baby’s weight inside the womb.
Instead, doctors must estimate fetal weight based on 2 points of measurement: (1) fundal height; and (2) amniotic fluid level. Even when these are accurately measured, however, they don’t give doctors a precise weight calculation.
So how is fetal macrosomia ever malpractice? In most fetal weight miscalculation lawsuits our lawyers see, a reasonable estimate could have been made the obstetrician just blew it.
Back to This Midwife Lawsuit
The midwife in Minnesota came up with a fetal weight estimate of 6 lbs. This ended up being way off the mark because when the baby was eventually delivered at Allina Cambridge Medical Center he weighed in at a whopping 10.5 lbs. This was a classic case of failing to diagnose fetal macrosomia.
If the midwife had accurately estimated the baby’s fetal weight to be anywhere close to 10.5 pounds, she would have known that vaginal delivery was not safe and scheduled the mother for a C-section.
Shoulder Dystocia
The midwife’s failure to diagnose fetal macrosomia in advance basically created a ticking time bomb which predictably exploded in her face when she tried to deliver the baby vaginally. That delivery room explosion came in the form of shoulder dystocia.
Shoulder dystocia is an emergency complication that sometimes occurs during childbirth in which one or both of the baby’s shoulders become stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. When this occurs it is very dangerous because the baby’s head is essentially stuck in the birth canal. If the shoulder cannot be dislodged within a few minutes, that baby can suffer oxygen deprivation and brain damage. This causes permanent birth injuries such as cerebral palsy.
Vaginal Delivery a Bad Idea
Not realizing how big the baby was, the midwife attempted a vaginal delivery. During that delivery, the baby’s shoulder became very firmly stuck behind the mother’s pelvis – a classic case of shoulder dystocia.
Perhaps realizing that the baby was in fairly imminent danger at that point, the midwife appeared to have panicked. In her rush to dislodge the baby’s shoulder and deliver him to safety, the midwife gripped his head and tried to pull him out with excessive force. At trial, the plaintiff’s expert estimated that the midwife used 8 times the normal amount of force.
Excessive Force
The midwife’s frantic pulling was not successful in dislodging the baby but it was enough to fracture his arm and damage his brachial plexus nerves (a group of nerves at the base of the neck that allows the brain to control the arm). A doctor was eventually called in to perform an episiotomy which successfully delivered the baby.
The baby’s nerve damage was fairly significant and required multiple corrective surgeries and extensive physical therapy to repair and restore some limited arm function.
Midwife Sued
The mother’s medical malpractice case against the midwife went to trial, and a jury determined that the midwife breached the standard of medical care and awarded damages totaling $8.9 million.
Medical Negligence and Fetal Macrosomia
Doctors have a duty of care towards their patients, which includes adequately monitoring a pregnant woman and her baby, identifying potential risks, and making decisions that best ensure the safety of both. In the context of fetal macrosomia, this involves accurately estimating the weight of the fetus, monitoring the baby’s growth, and planning for a safe delivery method.
Medical negligence can occur when a healthcare provider fails to properly diagnose or manage a case of fetal macrosomia. This could involve:
- Failure to adequately estimate the baby’s weight during pregnancy, a mistake that should never happen.
- Failure to diagnose conditions like diabetes that contribute to fetal macrosomia.
- Failure to recommend a C-section in a timely manner when necessary.
- Failure to properly manage shoulder dystocia or other complications during delivery, which often, like this case, involves excessive force.
Fetal Macrosomia Verdicts and Settlements
Let’s take a look at settlement amounts and jury payouts in other fetal macrosomia lawsuits.
$956,504 – Verdict (Utah 2020): Shoulder dystocia was encountered during vaginal childbirth of 12-pound baby. The baby suffered nerve damage during the process and was diagnosed with brachial plexus palsy. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent because they never should have even attempted a vaginal delivery due to the obvious indications that the baby was very large and because the mother had a previous delivery with shoulder dystocia.
$975,000 – Settlement (California 2019): A newborn boy suffered oxygen deprivation, micro bleeding, and meconium aspiration at birth. He subsequently experienced developmental and cognitive delays, cerebral palsy, and ADHD. His parents alleged that the obstetrician’s negligent care caused these permanent injuries. They claimed he improperly addressed fetal macrosomia, failed to address breech presentation, and delayed the C-section. This case settled for $975,000.
$926,358 – Settlement (New York 2019): A newborn girl weighed over 11 pounds at birth. During her delivery, the nurse-midwife encountered shoulder dystocia. The girl subsequently experienced a brachial plexus injury and neuropathy. Her mother sued the midwife, alleging that the nurse-midwife’s failure to consider and test for macrosomia caused her permanent injuries. This case was resolved for a settlement amount of $926,358. I would like to tell you I’m surprised to see another midwife lawsuit involving fetal macrosomia. I’m not. Midwives get sued way too often and there are also often insurance coverage issues. My advice is to deliver with an obstetrician. It is just safer.
$883,704 – Settlement (New York 2019): A newborn boy sustained Erb’s palsy and a right brachial plexus injury at birth. He now experienced developmental delays. The boy’s mother alleged that the physicians’ negligence caused his permanent injuries. She claimed they failed to appreciate her gestational diabetes as a macrosomia risk factor. The boy’s mother also claimed the physicians failed to order a C-section and negligently used excessive force during a vacuum-assisted delivery. This case settled for $883,704.
$73,030,000 – Verdict (New Mexico 2018): A newborn boy weighed over nine pounds at birth. He suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and a brachial plexus injury. His mother also suffered vaginal, rectal wall, and anal sphincter lacerations. The boy’s parents alleged that the hospital’s negligent care caused these injuries. They claimed its staff failed to test for macrosomia despite his mother’s diabetes. The parents also claimed they failed to offer a C-section and used excessive force during a vacuum-assisted delivery. The hospital denied liability. It argued that its staff met the standard of care. The jury awarded the family a $73,030,000 verdict.
$15,340,000 – Verdict (New York 2018): A newborn girl sustained a brachial plexus injury at birth. She developed Erb’s palsy. The girl’s left arm was left with limited mobility and strength. Her mother hired a fetal macrosomia attorney who alleged that the hospital’s negligence caused her permanent injuries. She claimed its staff failed to appreciate a sonogram that revealed that the baby was large for her gestational age. The woman also claimed the physician applied excessive force in a vacuum-assisted delivery, improperly treated shoulder dystocia, and failed to offer a C-section. A jury awarded a $15,340,000 verdict.
$2,090,000 – Settlement (California 2017): A newborn girl suffered a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury at birth. She developed spastic quadriplegia, developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, and speech impairments. The girl now required lifelong assistance with daily activities. Her mother alleged that the hospital’s negligence caused her permanent injuries. She claimed they failed to recognize the rapid fetal size increase within the last gestation month as a macrosomia sign. The girl’s mother also claimed the initial attending physician abandoned her during labor and failed to tell the inexperienced covering physician of her high pregnancy risk. This case settled for $2,090,000.
$8,000,000 – Settlement (California 2016): A newborn boy weighed over 15 pounds at birth. He suffered hypoxic brain damage which resulted in developmental delays. The boy now required a feeding tube and round-the-clock nursing care. His mother alleged that the hospital’s negligence caused his permanent injuries. She claimed they failed to timely diagnose macrosomia, delayed a C-section, and failed to timely resuscitate and transfer him. This case settled for $8,000,000.
Fetal Macrosomia Lawyer
If you need a fetal macrosomia lawyer anywhere in the United States, call us today at 800-553-8082 or reach out to us online.
More Minnesota Birth Injury Resources
- Minnesota birth injury law
- Settlement value of birth injury cases in Minnesota
- Tort claim values in Minnesota