Failure to Test for Platelet Antibody Abnormality despite Patient History, $4.8M Settlement

Providers in California have agreed to a $4.8 million settlement to resolve allegations of negligence for failure to test a pediatric patient for platelet abnormalities despite a mother’s history of delivering two prior children with low platelets, states a report (login required) from the August 2013 Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements, and Experts. The 32-year-old mother sought prenatal care for her third pregnancy at a medical center where she informed a nurse practitioner that her two previous children were diagnosed with low platelets after birth but that the children were healthy and had no problems. When she was admitted to the clinic for induction of labor and a vaginal delivery, her newborn had Apgar scores of 8 and 8 and a low platelet level of 26. The next day, the infant was transferred to another hospital, where he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia.