A medical malpractice suit filed against a pediatrician over an alleged birth injury that claimed the infant’s life will continue, according to the Pennsylvania federal judge ruling over the case.

The pediatrician asked the court for summary judgment in her favor, but the court denied that motion. The federal judge presiding over that case determined that there was enough evidence to continue and that it should be up to a jury to make a choice about whether or not there was any delay after the physician was notified that the child required medical attention.

The parents who filed the lawsuit argued that a delay in care for the infant led to the baby’s death just six hours after birth. The parties in the medical malpractice lawsuit disagree over whether or not nurses notified the physician at 7:20 a.m. The physician denies that the notice was received at that point in time and argues that immediate action was therefore not necessary.

Expert reports, deposition testimony, and the evidence in that case all seem to have varying statements about at what point in time a nurse noticed that the child was suffering from respiratory distress and when the pediatrician was notified, according to Law360.

Allegedly the child inhaled significant amounts of amniotic fluid before birth and died a few hours later when respiratory distress led to heart failure. The lawsuit also argues that a pediatrician should have been present during labor and delivery and that the baby should have been delivered earlier because of signs of distress.

Unfortunately, a variety of different type of labor and birth injuries can affect the health of the mother as well as the child. According to Stanford Children’s Health Hospital, a birth injury can be caused by the position of the baby during labor and delivery or due to the baby’s size.

Prolonged labor, pelvic disproportion, abnormal birthing presentation, difficult labor, and large babies can all increase the chances of labor and delivery injuries. However, doctors and other medical personnel are responsible for monitoring the conditions of the new mother and baby so as to take action quickly.

Identifying situations that require a doctor’s insight can be critical for protecting the health of an infant in trouble, but if a physician is not told about an issue, concerns can escalate quickly and this lost time can limit treatment options for the baby.

According to the National Health Care Quality report, nearly 7 out of every 1,000 birth injuries in the year 2000 affected male infants, whereas, 5 out of every 1000 birth injuries impacted female infants.

When parents can show that a physician or other medical professional should have acted differently and violated the standard of care that would have been provided by similar health care professionals, they may have a medical malpractice claim.  Many of these birth injuries, according to parents who have filed lawsuits, could have been prevented with appropriate care.

The Birth Injury Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-cv-01389 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.