A Suffolk County, MA, jury awarded the family of Aiden Boulter $30.6M after finding that Cross Country Staffing Inc. was negligent in the care of Kim Boulter and her newborn son. The medical staffing company supplied the nurse responsible for monitoring Aiden’s heart rate at Massachusetts General Hospital in January 2013. Kim Boulter had a healthy pregnancy but when their son was born, he was not breathing and had almost no heartbeat. The birthing team had not been using a continuous fetal heart-rate monitor. Aiden was left with severe brain injuries which resulted from the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck during birth. Aiden is now six years old and cannot walk, speak, or eat on his own. The family charged the medical team with medical negligence. MGH, the nurse, and the obstetrician were initially named as defendants in the Boulter’s lawsuit but settled before the case went to trial. Before the jury verdict, Cross Country Staffing reached a confidential settlement with the family.
Plaintiff’s attorney Benjamin R. Zimmerman argued that MGH policy requires the use of a continuous fetal heart-rate monitor when pushing during the second stage of labor stretches past two or three hours. The intermittent readings suggested that Aiden Boulter’s heart rate was normal, but Zimmerman said he believes the nurse was actually measuring the mother’s heart rate and not that of the baby. Zimmerman argued that if the abnormal heart rate had been detected, Aiden could have been delivered quickly and avoided severe brain injuries.
Nursing expert witnesses are called upon to testify in cases alleging medical negligence by nurses in specialties such as labor and delivery. They have met the requirements to obtain a nursing license and are knowledgeable in the rules and regulations laid out by each state’s Nurse Practice Act. Claims against nurses may allege the failure to recognize or report high-risk situations such as signs of fetal distress. Elite Medical Experts has a proven record of success in complex nursing litigation. Contact Elite Medical Experts to retain the most qualified expert witness for your case.
