In Benidorm, a court has ruled against a midwife and a gynecologist for serious physical and mental injuries suffered by a girl born in 2008 at Levante Hospital, now Imed Levante. The family has received a €1,650,000 compensation for the severe consequences endured by the child, who currently has total incapacity. The judgment declares the hospital and three insurers as direct subsidiaries responsible for the civil damages. It was issued on February 6 by the Criminal Court 2 of Benidorm after a plea agreement reached between the prosecutors and the defense teams.
Under the agreement, the charges against the health workers were reduced from two years in prison and disqualification to a fine of €540 for each defendant for a crime of injuries through negligence, less grave. This sentence does not prevent them from continuing to practice. The compensation payment for the negligence has been largely covered by the hospital’s insurer, Zurich Spain, which paid €1.55 million, while AMA, with whom the midwife and the gynecologist held a policy, contributed the remaining €100,000.
Mishap by the medical team
The injuries to the child, including perinatal asphyxia and serious physical and cognitive sequelae, stemmed from an undetected placental detachment during an emergency cesarean section, attributed to the alleged negligence of the two professionals. The ruling indicates a claimed causal link between the doctors’ errors and the placental detachment and the subsequent life-altering impact on the child.
According to proven facts in the judgment, a woman who conceived in 2007 and held a Caser health policy attended Levante Hospital in Benidorm and was assigned a gynecologist. On January 2, 2008, she had a routine checkup and was slated for a cesarean on January 9 after being diagnosed with term podalic presentation.
Two days before the scheduled cesarean, the woman went to the emergency department around seven in the morning due to strong pains. After assessment, staff admitted her to the ward where she remained until 10 a.m. without the presence of a mandatory partogram—an essential document that records labor progression and prepartum events. The partogram should have been opened by the midwife now found guilty.
The gynecologist, who later faced sentencing, examined her at 10 a.m. and informed her she would be admitted for cesarean surgery. An hour later, the patient went to the restroom and noticed dark blood; she informed the midwife, who advised her not to worry if the blood was not bright red and did not arrange cardiotocographic monitoring.
After more than seven hours of admission without the accused ordering a fetal wellbeing monitor or a non-stress test, the patient was moved to an operating room. The gynecologist in charge of delivering the baby realized that a placental detachment with substantial clots had occurred.
Birth with no heartbeat
The child was born without a cry, no heartbeat, and no breathing activity, prompting transfer to Elche Hospital since Benidorm lacked a neonatal emergency service. The infant remained in Elche until discharge on February 6 with a diagnosis including severe perinatal asphyxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, significant respiratory distress, and later epilepsy. The sentence notes the detachment was not detected in time because fetal monitoring was not performed despite presenting symptoms, which would have disclosed the gravity of the newborn’s condition.
The ruling states that had ongoing fetal monitoring or non-stress testing been applied, the injuries sustained by the child could have been avoided. It concludes that the care provided by the gynecologist and the midwife did not meet standard medical practice, nor did the hospital’s procedures align with accepted professional norms. The resolution adds that the complications suffered by the newborn could have been prevented with proper non-stress fetal monitoring prior to the cesarean, and that ultrasound Doppler alone was insufficient since both tests supply distinct information. In cases of fetal wellbeing risk, the monitoring should be continuous up to delivery and the mother should have had more than one assessment on the day of labor.”