Medical negligence
A BC Supreme Court justice has found a Powell River doctor and nurse liable for a brain injury an infant sustained prior to her birth.
The girl, now four years old, was born in November 2011 with severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and developmental and cognitive impairment.
The Supreme Court found, in its Wednesday, May 25 ruling, that doctor Chris Morwood and nurse Mary-Jane Barcelonne were liable.
According to the ruling, the expecting mother came into Powell River General Hospital a few days prior with complaints of neck pain, but Barcelonne did not test her blood pressure, a test which would have indicated the woman had pre-eclampsia, nor did the nurse perform an adequate assessment.
The ruling stated that Morwood, who treated the woman, did not take an accurate medical history, which could have led to a diagnosis and prevented the brain injury.
A few days after she left the hospital, the mother suffered an eclamptic seizure and was transported to Vancouver for an emergency Caesarean-section.
