Nurse Told Doctor Wrong Blood Type During Childbirth

[drummer8603]

My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Missouri

My wife got pregnant around June of 2010. We went to our OBGYN and he identified her blood type as "O Negative" and took the necessary precautions since my blood type was "A Positive." He told my wife she would be given a shot right after our first child's birth to prevent her immune system from building up anti-bodies against "A Positive" blood to protect any future children from being attacked by my wife's immune system.

When it came time to deliver in March 2011, our doctor wasn't available so another doctor came in to deliver. The hospital was ready to give my wife the shot once she delivered. Right before my son was born a nurse from the hospital came in and told the doctor that my wife's blood type was really "O Positive" not "O Negative." The doctor was very agitated at the nurse and told her to run three more tests just to make sure it was right.

The nurse came back a bit later and confirmed that her results were correct, that my wife's blood type was "O Positive" not "O Negative." So my wife wasn't given the shot and we went on with life. Fast forward to present day. My wife found out she was pregnant this past Sunday but had a miscarriage that afternoon. While asking questions about why the miscarriage happened, we asked what blood type they had on file for us (since they had just taken a blood test to determine if she was pregnant). They said her blood type is "O Negative!"

Since my wife's blood type is "O Negative" and she never received the shot, her future pregnancies are now higher risk and will require more expensive health care to succeed. We want to have 3 or 4 more children so this is very disheartening to us. Is there anything we can do since the hospital nurse basically messed us over?

Thanks for your input!

[flyingron]

Well first, you will have to show she was sensitized to the Rh+ antibodies. There's a good chance this indeed has happened, but you need an antibody screen to be sure. The problem is at this point you have no idea when the sensitization occurred. It may have happened pre-delivery and it may have happend due to the miscarriage of an Rh+ baby that failed due to other reasons.

She should have been given an antibody screen at about 26 weeks and potentially RhIG then. Certainly she should have been given it again at child birth of a Rh+ baby and frankly again after the miscarriage.

I'd be getting a lawyer familiar with this stuff to pour over the records.

It's not impossible for you to have more children, but if she's sensitized, the pregnancy will have to be closely monitored at all stages for signs of hemolytic disease. Of course depending on your genetic blood markers, it's also possible that an Rh- baby will be conceived that won't be at risk for this as well.