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Friday, March 29, 2024

Marion couple file med mal case over son's birth

MORGANTOWN - A Marion County couple has filed a medical malpractice suit against a Monongalia County hospital and the physician who delivered their son.

Alicia and Craig Cochran filed a suit June 19 in Monongalia Circuit Court, on behalf of their son, Tyler. The suit names Monongalia General Hospital, James M. Holehouse, M.D., and Holehouse and Rollins Inc., as defendants.

The Cochrans claim steps taken during the labor and delivery of the baby caused him to have permanent mental injuries.

According to the suit, Alicia Cochran was admitted to the hospital May 6, 1999, to have her labor induced. She was given the drug Pitocin, which is used to induce and augment contractions.

Tyler Cochran was born May 7. According to the suit, he was born with Apgar scores of zero and five, and required intubation and other life support measures.

"The baby had flaccid muscle tone, absence of reflexes including root, suck, grasp, gag and was gasping," the suit says.

The Cochrans claim the nurses monitoring the birth of Tyler should have noticed repetitive prolonged decelerations and variable decelerations consistent with nonreassuring fetal heart rate. At that time, Pitocin should have been discontinued.

The suit also says the baby should have been born by cesarean section.

Tyler Cochran now suffers from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and related neurological injuries.

Therefore, as his parents, Alicia and Craig Cochran, through attorney Kelly R. Reed, seek punitive and compensatory damages in an unspecified amount.

Monongalia Circuit Court case number 07-C-395

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