jackryan said:
I guess my question is if it was brought to the attention of the nursing staff about my sons breathing difficulty 3 times and they did not do anything about it aren't they liable for him going into cardiogenic shock and suffering hypoxia only 3 hours later. A simple medication would have prevented this from happening.
A simple medication would have prevented what from happening? There is no medication that corrects coarctation of the aorta with severity of coarctation that your son had.
You son's condition typically presents in the first few days of life only when the coarctation is severe. The coarction becomes a problem when the fetal circulation, the ductus arteriosus, closes. Prior to the closing of the ductus arteriosus, symptoms are rarely detected. Your son's deterioration on the day of his discharge from the hospital fits the expected timeframe for the appearance of serious symptoms.
To prove negligence, you are going to have to prove your son's physical exams and vital signs contained information that should have been recognized as indicating a problem.
While in the hospital, your son obviously nursed (breast or bottle) and did so without any respiratory distress. Obviously, your son had an adequate number of soiled diapers, adequate daily weight, moved all of his extremeties, and had vital signs within normal limits. The nurse was correct in saying babies breathe hard at times. Babies aren't used to breathing and babies breathe hard, fast, shallow, or slow, but not with an abnormal rate/character for lengthy periods.
A medical malpractice lawsuit must contain significant damages that would not have occurred without an act of negligence as the direct/proximal cause.
I sincerely doubt you will be able to prove the required signficant damages as a result of negligence.
Your son was born with an aorta that could not support circulation to his body. He got here with significant surgery on his agenda for day three or day four; no medical professional contributed to his need for surgery. I believe the attorney's response will be that there is no viable claim of medical malpractice.
I am sorry for your loss. I encourage you to consult with a physician about genetic testing for potential birth defects before you attempt to have another baby.
EC