Mother suing nurse that cut off infant’s finger

In Louisiana, and elsewhere, first-time mothers should feel excited about what is to come, not devastated about what has happened. For one mother, devastation is exactly what she may have felt in the wake of the medical error that injured her infant.

The mother is suing for nurse negligence and hospital negligence in the aftermath of her daughter losing half of her finger. It appears that the nurse in question was attempting to remove an intravenous tube from the infant child’s hand when she mistaken cut off half of the child’s left pinky.

Apparently the scene that ensued was one of hysteria and lots of blood from the poor, injured baby. According to representation for the mother, “The nerves were too delicate. The veins were too small,” the finger could not be saved.

The mother states that the nurse did not adhere to proper safety procedures. Furthermore, the mother states that the hospital was negligent in training the nurse and failing to properly supervise the nurse.

The mother is seeking damages of more than $15,000. Aside from the injured left pinky, the child is, thankfully, fine. While this mother may be entitled to compensation, it will still not erase the pain that she endured. The mother is quoted as saying, “She was born so perfect and they just cut off her finger.”

While it may be residents in Louisiana’s first inclination to be trusting of medical professionals and medical facilities, errors do occur. These mistakes have the potential to impact a victim for the remainder of their life.

Source: Orlando Sentinel, “Polk mom’s lawsuit: Nurse cut off baby’s pinky,” Ray Reyes, Mar. 27, 2012