MARTINSBURG – A woman is suing Berkeley Medical Center on behalf of her minor son after she claims her son suffered birth injuries due to the medical center’s negligence.
West Virginia University Hospital Inc., Shenandoah Women’s Health Center, Shenandoah Community Health Center, Shenandoah Midwives, Dr Sarah Hardy, Dr. Amira Khokar, Brittany Beck, Christa Megargee, Dawn Gonano and the United States of America were also named as defendants in the suit.
B.B. was born on April 19, 2014, at 8:26 p.m. with an Apgar score of less than five at five minutes and at 38 weeks gestation, according to a complaint filed May 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Samantha Butts claims she had oligohydramnios and her son’s blood sugar tests were initially too low to read at birth and then 30 minutes later another attempt was done and it was still too low.
Attempts to insert an IV overnight were unsuccessful and a heel stick was attempted at 11:28 p.m. with a result of 87 and, shortly thereafter, 89 reported, according to the suit. An IV was started approximately 13 hours after B.B. was born.
Butts claims it was not until 1:15 a.m. on April 20 that a blood gas was even obtained and that there were at least three incidents where the heart rates dropped and there were decelerations.
The defendants failed to properly and timely treat B.B.’s respiratory difficulties and hypoglycemia, according to the suit. The defendants also failed to timely recognize the dangers and risk associated with the periods of apnea suffered by B.B.
Butts claims the defendants caused her son to suffer respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, stress and, ultimately, improper respirations causing cerebral palsy and leukomalacia.
Butts is seeking damages in excess of $300,000 with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is being represented by Barry J. Nace and Christopher T. Nace of Paulson & Nace PLLC; and D. Michael Burke of Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 3:16-cv-00071