A Florida woman that didn’t know she was pregnant and delivered her baby into the toilet in a restroom at the University Community Hospital in Carrollwood is suing the Tampa hospital for medical malpractice.
2 1/2 years ago, Robin Lumley arrived at the hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding and serious pains in her abdomen. Hospital staffers ordered tests, including a pregnancy test that was never performed, and her symptoms were documented. Lumley, who was 46 at the time and single, was reportedly never fully examined because she was in too much pain.
Hospital staffers allowed Lumley to go to the restroom, where she delivered a 6-pound baby into the toilet. The baby girl, Brianna Rose, almost drowned. She also went into respiratory arrest and sustained brain damage following her delivery. She will now require specialized medical care for life.
Lumley’s lawsuit contends that it was the hospital’s negligence in failing to detect that she was in labor that caused birthing injury to her baby. Lumley claims she did not know she was pregnant until her baby was born.
According to psychologists, women have been known to conceal their pregnancies even from themselves. Three kinds of pregnancy denials include:
• Pervasive denial
• Psychotic denial
• Affective denial
In the event that a doctor, nurse, or another health care provider fails to provide a mother in labor with the proper medical care and the mother or baby is injured as a result, the hospital and/or staffers can be held liable for Florida medical malpractice.
Woman didn’t know she was pregnant, gives birth — now hospital is sued, Sun-Sentinel.com, October 7, 2008
Characteristics of Women Who Deny or Conceal Pregnancy, Psychosomatics
Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice and Childbirth, WrongDiagnosis
American Pregnancy Association
University Community Hospital
Please Contact our South Florida personal injury lawyers at Halberg & Fogg PLLC, Attorneys at Law today.