A Youngwood couple sued two local hospitals and medical personnel, claiming doctors and nurses failed to properly identify and treat a prenatal condition blamed for their son’s death in late 2017.
In a 20-count wrongful death lawsuit, Joanie and Samuel Adams contend an ultrasound performed at UPMC Magee Womens Hospital that August discovered a complication related to the location of the umbilical cord. That finding was not noted in medical records that followed in the months that led up to the baby’s birth at Excela Westmoreland Hospital in December, the lawsuit contends.
Maverick died as his mother attempted to deliver him in December 2017, according to the lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County.
The couple contend doctors and nurses at both hospitals were negligent by not addressing the pregnancy risk following the first ultrasound and two subsequent tests.
Excela spokeswoman Robin Jennings said the Westmoreland hospital will not comment on pending litigation. Magee Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, the couple contend Excela medical personnel improperly allowed Joanie Adams to go into labor before the baby was delivered stillborn via a cesarean section procedure. The baby was delivered and pronounced dead the same day, the family’s attorney with Harry S. Cohen & Associates wrote in the court filing.
“Had Mom not been allowed to undergo labor, Maverick would have been born healthy,” the Adamses contend in their lawsuit.
The couple said hospitals failed to properly train doctors and nurses to properly identify, document and treat the prenatal condition that led to the baby’s death.
The Adamses are seeking an unspecified amount in damages for issues that include the baby’s pain and suffering before his death, their son’s potential future earnings, loss of enjoyment of life and his parents’ emotional distress.
