13 years ago a pregnant woman went to the Dexeus Institute in Barcelona because she had intense pain and contractions. I was 26 weeks. Your son was born with serious neurological sequelae, after a placental abruption and a very late caesarean section.
Today, they have condemned the insurer, Sanitas, to pay the family 3.3 million euros for "poor attention". Is about the highest compensation paid in Spain for medical malpractice.
When a woman is pregnant and reads news of these, the first reaction is to be scared. In fact, all mothers know that during pregnancy we have emotions on the surface and we feel panicked because something goes wrong during childbirth.
But this should not be reading, but prevention: inform us well about our rights in motherhood and the possibility of developing a birth plan to go much calmer to give birth.
Most of the deliveries in Spain go smoothly, so cases as hard as this are very unusual. But you have to reduce them to zero.
A caesarean section six hours late
According to court decisions, the mother went to the health center on Friday, April 22, 2005 for "intense pain, bleeding and contractions". The pregnancy was still in its 26th week, so the medical team "He opted for conservative treatment to avoid premature delivery."
They performed an ultrasound at 10.30 in the morning and detected a bruise in the placenta, so they asked for an analysis at 12 to see if there was a placental abruption, which would imply that the baby might not receive enough oxygen.
The results were not reviewed until six in the afternoon, when an emergency caesarean section was ordered, but the gynecologist was not there and it took another 50 minutes to perform the intervention.
In Babies and more When should you go to the emergency room if you are pregnant?The sentence leaves no doubt:
"There was an inadequate surveillance in the treatment since it was allowed to pass six hours without verifying the well-being of the fetus or performing new diagnostic tests. That lack of surveillance resulted in the hypoxia causing irreversible neurological lesions to the child."
The child lost his sight and suffers a significant developmental delay, which does not allow him to fend for himself.
Negligence was proven
A court of first instance in Madrid ruled in 2014 that the existence of the sequels and the responsibility of the health center was proven. The sentence was appealed by Sanitas, the insurer with whom the family had contracted the health policy, and ratified by the Audience of Madrid two years later.
As for the amount of the compensation, it was set in a sentence of October 5 in the Court of First Instance 20 of Madrid.
In Babies and more When the baby suffers from lack of oxygen at the time of delivery: causes, consequences and solutionsSanitas must pay the family 3.3 million euros: 1.9 compensation and 1.4 for late payment interest, since 2012, in which the legal proceedings began.
The insurer has announced that it is still analyzing the ruling and has not decided whether to appeal:
"In any case, we will assume our obligations. We deeply regret this case, since our priority is the health of our clients."
It also adds that:
"Sanitas does not intervene in the performance of the medical act or supervise it. This is the responsibility of the hospital and the doctor."
It is clear that this sentence will not be able to restore the child's health, but we hope it will serve as an example so that other families do not have to go through the same.
Informing us about the delivery care is the first step to go to the clinic with more peace of mind, knowing what we have to expect at all times.
Photos | iStock
