Earlier in January, McKeen & Associates announced it has filed a complaint against a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based midwifery, A Mommy’s Butterfly of Midwifery Services, on behalf of a mother who hired midwives from the company for a home birth and pre-natal services.
Brian McKeen and Andrew Kay of McKeen & Associates of Detroit, Michigan, filed the case in Circuit Court of Washington County, Arkansas. The complaint is against the midwives and the business for negligence that resulted in severe cerebral palsy in the newborn.
The case states that prior to the home birth, the mother was diagnosed with Group B Strep and a kidney infection, which the midwives failed to recognize and treat as high risk for home birth, and did not treat with IV antibiotics during onset of labor and throughout delivery. The complaint also attests the midwives failed to properly monitor and document the fetal heart rate during labor; failed to call emergency services upon the mother’s request; and did not recognize signs of fetal distress which required immediate transfer to a hospital.
The newborn girl was delivered floppy at birth with difficulty breathing. Her arms and legs were shaking at birth due to immediate seizures.
The newborn girl was eventually transferred to the hospital for a 54-day stay where she experienced additional seizures and was diagnosed with Group B Strep Meningitis and brain damage. She required ECMO (fake lung) to circulate oxygenated blood through her body for 12 days. She has since been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
Due to the many failures by one of the midwives, her license was suspended by the Arkansas State Board of Health.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have represented families who experience unnecessary trauma, suffering and/or death due to the incompetence of a midwife,” says Brian McKeen, founder and managing partner of McKeen & Associates. “Midwives do not have the medical training and expertise to assess situations properly that may require life-saving medical measures, nor are they equipped to provide those measures. Most midwives are also underqualified to provide adequate pre-natal care, which may uncover risk factors that render home birth dangerous. Expectant mothers and their families need to be aware of the extreme risk to themselves and their babies when attempting to give birth outside a hospital setting.”
McKeen & Associates, P.C. is a leader in representing individuals injured by the negligence of others particularly in or by hospitals and physicians. In addition, McKeen & Associates, P.C. has successfully represented clients injured in a variety of other circumstances. Based in Detroit, McKeen & Associates represents clients in both federal and state courts brought throughout Michigan and the United States. For more information, visit www.mckeenassociates.com.
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