Articles - Brain Damage
Couple sues over child's brain damage ::
(11 18, 2005)
Tuesday, Jul. 27, 1999 Greeley (Colo.) Tribune
By Sharon Dunn
Grandparents say doctors could have prevented injuries incurred at birth.
A Colorado Springs couple is suing four doctors for medical malpractice on behalf of their grandson after he was left brain damages at birth eight years ago in Greeley.
Patrick and Patricia Hayes, grandparents of Joshua Hayes, claim that their grandson was permanently brain damaged because doctors did not respond appropriately when their daughter, Kimberly Hayes, had a heart attack during birth. The young mother, 22 and a graduate student at the University of Northern Colorado at the time, died as a result of the heart attack.
Now the child is 8 years old and cannot function on his own.
"The poor young man is trapped within his own body," said Brad Prochaska, a Wichita, Kan. attorney who filed the complaint on behalf of the Hayeses. "He's wheelchair bound, he will never walk, never live independently and never take care of himself."
What happened to the young mother was a rare tragedy, said her family doctor, Mark Young, who has been named in the suit. Dr. Thomas Derk, an anesthesiologist, Dr. Paul Hiratzka, and obstetrician, and Dr. Kurt Cook, who no longer practices in Greeley, also are named. Only Young could be reached for comment.
"Unfortunately, what Kimberly had was an amniotic fluid embolism, an unavoidable, and, thankfully, rare tragedy," Young said Monday. "During the time she was there, she had the best medical care she could have. Unfortunately, the embolism changed her life, and that of the grandparents."
Young explained that Hayes' condition was not detectable prior to the episode. During an embolism, amniotic fluid seeped into her bloodstream through a possible rupture in a small blood vessel, causing the cardiopulmonary arrest. It is a very rare circumstance, he said.
"It's a catastrophe," Young said. "When mom's not getting oxygen, the baby is not getting oxygen."
The lack of oxygen left the child brain damaged. Joshua now has quadraparesis, meaning he can move his limbs but not functionally, and he has cerebral palsy.
With the baby's father not being involved, Joshua's grandparents took over his care. The Hayes deferred any comment to Prochaska.
They are suing only for Joshua's resulting brain damage, claiming doctors could have done something to prevent that.
"They didn't respond appropriately on how to prevent brain injury to Joshua," Prochaska said, stating he could be no more specific. "His injury is devastating. It's like being trapped in jail for the rest of his life."
The suit comes late in the child's life, but Prochaska said he wasn't retained on the case until a few years into it.
In most medical malpractice lawsuits, the statute of limitations is two years. But in cases involving a minor, lawsuits can be filed up to two years after they turn 18.
"It takes time to investigate before a suit is filed because you have to have it reviewed by other doctors," Prochaska said. "There's a certain advantage to waiting, so you can see where the child is in terms of his injury. At one year, you can't tell if he can walk or talk, but if you wait longer, you can see it as he develops."
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