Texas Couple Files Birth Injury Lawsuit against Oklahoma Hospital

Lawsuit filed against Mercy Hospital in Ardmore, Oklahoma following severe birth injury.

After their child was diagnosed with a neurological birth injury resulting in permanent brain damage, a Texas couple has filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages from the hospital.

"Medical Lawsuit" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Weiss Paarz

While the birth of a child is always cause for celebration, the negligent actions of medical professionals can also lead to heartbreak, confusion and pain. For parents Bradley and Erika Mulsow, this could not be more true. The parents claim in a lawsuit filed this month that staff at Mercy Hospital Ardmore acted in a negligent and reckless manner, causing their newborn son to develop permanent brain damage.

The birth injury lawsuit—filed April 6th, 2017 in Oklahoma federal court—mentioned the hospital and specific medical personnel as defendants. In particular, Mercy Hospital Admore’s Dr. Mark Melton, an obstetrician, was named as a primary defendant who has affiliations with Southern Oklahoma’s Women’s Health PC, with the suit claiming that the physician provided negligent care to Mrs. Muslow during delivery.

Details of the lawsuit.

The parents of the child claim that the physician and hospital failed to properly diagnose, monitor and treat the symptoms of both the mother and the baby, did not provide sufficient nursing care, and failed to recognize fetal and maternal distress signals; a strong indicator of potential birth injuries.

The suit goes on to state that the defendants acted in a grossly negligent and reckless manner with malice or reckless disregard to the rights of the child and mother, and that Erika and Bradley Maslow have now lost the consortium and companionship their child (identified only as "T.E.M" in the complaint).

The couple filed a federal lawsuit seeking compensation for the damages their family has suffered, some of which include existing and future medical costs for their son and loss of consortium, as well as punitive damages.

Due to tort reform measures in Oklahoma, non-economic damages for these types of cases (e.g., pain and suffering, loss of consortium, etc.) are capped at $350,000, regardless of the facts of the case. The one exception that negates this cap on damages is if the court finds clear and convincing evidence pointing to gross negligence on behalf of the defendant.

While hospitals are not generally prone to settle these types of cases out of court, at Rasansky Law Firm, we hope this family has every opportunity to present their case to a jury.