LOGAN'S PONY CLUB
FOR CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY Contact Logan
PARENTS SUE DOCTORS AFTER SON BORN WITH CP
ADRIENNE TANNER - National Post
HAMILTON - A Hamilton couple whose son was born with cerebral palsy have filed a $19.8 million lawsuit against the five doctors and the hospital who administered his prenatal care and assisted at his birth.
Mark and Laurie Whittle are suing the doctors and St. Joseph's Hospital for negligence they allege caused their son's medical problems.
In the next few months, medical experts will begin assessing Logan Whittle's future: whether he will be able to attend school, hold down a job or marry.
The case has been in a legal "holding pattern" since it was filed, says Michael Lamont, the family's lawyer. "With someone as young as this child, we wait until he's at least three or four years old," Mr. Lamont said.
Logan turns three in October. Until then, it's impossible to determine the extent of his brain damage and what his needs will be.
According to the statement of claim, after some minor bleeding in July, 1996, Ms. Whittle's pregnancy risk level was upgraded one level from A to B. But the real scare came in October when Ms. Whittle was at full term and worried because the baby had stopped moving.
One of the doctors named in the suit, Dr. David Small, booked her an ultrasound examination and checkup on Oct. 25 to be followed by an induced labour on the 28th, if she had not yet delivered.
The exam showed she had a low amniotic fluid level, indicating the placenta was not functioning properly, the suit alleges. Ms. Whittle checked into St. Joseph's Hospital where she opted for an induced labour.
Ten minutes after doctors started the labour-inducing drugs, a foetal heart monitor signaled an emergency.
The baby's heart rate was dropping dangerously and by 11:45 a.m., another of the doctors, Dr. David Lamont, decided to perform a Caesarean section.
Between 12:45 p.m. and 1:10 p.m., two other doctors made a total of seven unsuccessful attempts to administer anaesthesia.
Finally, at 1:25 p.m., Dr. Anne Wong administered successful epidural anaesthesia and the operation began. By then, Logan's heart rate had plunged even lower, the statement of claim alleges.
When Logan was pulled from the womb, he was not breathing and his heart had stopped altogether.
The doctors didn't have to tell Ms. Whittle there was something seriously wrong. Their panicked faces told the whole story.
She remembers calling out, "Why isn't my baby crying?"
It took 20 minutes to revive him.
Logan was born with severe hypoxia, where the brain is starved of oxygen, and meconium aspiration syndrome, where the baby breathes in his own waste mixed with amniotic fluid. He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy or brain damage, the statement of claim states.
The Whittles maintain the doctors and hospital were negligent because they didn't recognize the seriousness of the baby's distress and immediately perform a Cesarean section.
The hospital, in the only statement of defense filed so far, says the hospital is not responsible for any alleged negligence on the part of the doctors. The doctors have not yet filed their statements.