Mom suing nurse after suffocation accident

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This Mother Is Suing a Hospital for Millions After She Accidentally Killed Her Son

A mother in Oregon is suing Portland Adventist Medical Center for $8.6 million after she accidentally smothered her four-day-old baby in a hospital bed.

Monica Thompson says that, a few days after her son Jacob was born in August 2012, the hospital put her newborn in bed with her so she could breastfeed him. But Thompson says in the lawsuit that the baby was put there in the middle of the night, while she was heavily medicated. Thompson drifted off, and when she woke up, Jacob was unresponsive...

Thompson, who is suing both the hospital and the individual nurse involved in the incident, said she was still drowsy and groggy” from her medication when she realized her son was not moving, her lawsuit states. The suit says Thompson called for a nurse, and when none came, she carried her son to the hallway and frantically yelled for help.”

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
That was my first thought as well. Mom kills baby, later blames nurse and sues because she needs cash. People are terrible like that.

Also, why are postpartum moms getting narcotics around the clock??? I get that labor is painful, but can people not tolerate pain anymore or something? Give mom some tylenol and a heating pad.

Off topic, but I have been sent HOME with oxy after babies #2-5. I had more pain postpartum than during stage 1 labor, to the point where I was nauseated and near tears -- especially when baby fed. CNM for baby #2 said my uterus was involuting (is that a word?) faster than usual, and subsequent babies hurt more anyway. I do have a reasonable pain tolerance; in fact I was unmedicated during labor with all except #4 -- including #1 whose labor was induced.

So yeah speaking for myself, I really couldn't tolerate the pain. In my defense, I clock-watched for my prn ibuprofen too.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
This is one of the biggest drivers of the cost of healthcare in the US.

Is it? I don't think research actually bears this out.

New study shows that the savings from 'tort reform' are mythical - LA Times

Specializes in ER.

What country are you from macawake? Are you accepting immigrants? The lawyers here plead before the jury how morally imperative it is for the wronged individual to be properly compensated for all his or her suffering before the law firm walks off with nearly half the loot. Lawyers routinely seek litigation, advertising that "there is no cost unless we recover for you."

This suite states that the plaintiff did not discover that all the elements in her claim existed until a professional reviewed the record in 2017. There's a fair chance she responded to an add offering to go get her some money. In this case, if the lawyers get $4 million, they could probably lose 10 other cases like it and still pocket $2 million. Litigation is the main driver behind costly and often misdirected "defensive medicine."

Klone wonders how this will affect OB practice. Me too. The usual course is more restrictions to clutter life, more waivers, and more policy and procedures to make sure the institution is protected as we struggle to make our world absolutely idiot proof. 24,000 new Federal regulations in the last 8 years? Aren't we there yet?

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I don't have much to add, just.. what a horrible story. :(

I also want to know, what is an OB nurse supposed to do with a

mom post partum who is in enough pain to warrant strong

medication, yet is exclusively breastfeeding and that baby is

hungry???

Perhaps a policy stating that someone should be in the room

and awake to monitor mom 24/7? Or SOME way to monitor

moms that are breastfeeding, so that this does not happen?

Cameras? q15 minute checks?

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
That's going to be a hospital-specific policy - I do not routinely order narcotics for lady partsl deliveries.

My comment was not meant to be universal - I was speaking for what we do at our facility.

This is one of the biggest drivers of the cost of healthcare in the US ...

Do you have sources to support this statement? The statistics I've seen in the past, over the years, have indicated that malpractice suits represent only a tiny proportion of the healthcare spending in the US, and that states that have initiated "tort reform" and set limits on individuals' ability to sue have not experienced significant reductions in healthcare costs.

So sad, and so scary. During falls risk teaching in the NICU, I've had moms confess that with their earlier (non-NICU) babies that while on postpartum they had fallen asleep with baby in the bed or chair, dropped them on the floor, and never told anybody.

Unfortunately, in NICU I find that many parents get pretty ticked off if you tell them not to fall asleep holding baby, since there is too much risk that they'll a) fall and hit their head, or b) roll into a crevice and suffocate. Some parents get really argumentative when you actually enforce this policy, with the mindset of "I'm the parent, don't tell me when I'm allowed or not allowed to to hold my baby," or "You think you know better than I do whether I'm capable of holding right now?" It really puts the nurse between a rock and a hard place, since we have to balance safety with satisfaction scores.

Specializes in school nurse.

Are opioids passed through breast milk? If so, should a mom taking them be breast feeding?

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Are opioids passed through breast milk? If so, should a mom taking them be breast feeding?

Very small amounts and yes, it's perfectly safe.

Specializes in ER.
Is it? I don't think research actually bears this out.

New study shows that the savings from 'tort reform' are mythical - LA Times

I've seen several other articles like this one. While they claim a low percentage, I've seen the transformation in the practice of several doctors who have been sued. While defensive medicine is subjective and difficult to quantify, in my environment, the percentage seems much higher than 2-3%. Even if they are right, $78 billion is still a lot of money arguably wasted.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
I've seen the transformation in the practice of several doctors who have been sued.

As have I, but you know what they say about making inferences about statistics based on anecdotal evidence.

I am the manager of an OB department in Oregon. I'm wondering what effect this litigation will have on our practices. Are we going to require moms to get up out of bed and sit in a chair every time they need to feed their baby? Will a nurse have to sit in the room with the mom the entire time she's holding her baby unless another adult is there? What effect is this going to have on patient satisfaction? On breastfeeding, and mother-infant bonding?

If past proceedings of legislators of the state of Oregon is any indication, they'll probably outlaw delivery in hospitals. Oh...but if you're 15 or under while delivering, you can smoke dope for analgesia...;)

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