Newborn vacuumed 15 times during birth dies 1 day after delivery doctor ignored mother's pleas for C-section: Lawsuit

A lawsuit was filed against a doctor at Greenwich Hospital, Yale New Haven Health Services, Summit Health and their doctor (Google Maps).

The Connecticut parents of an infant who died exactly 24 hours after being born are suing a doctor who used a vacuum 15 times during the delivery of the baby.

Danielle Mackenzie and Fabrice Diaz allege in their lawsuit that Dr. Jay Matut, an OB/GYN at Greenwich Hospital, used the vacuum to deliver their son, Alexander M. Diaz, who died on Feb. 18.

The lawsuit alleges the series of events leading to the death started on Feb. 17 when Mackenzie was 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant and went into labor. At 8:10 p.m., she was fully dilated and was instructed to start pushing. After about 1 hour and 40 minutes of pushing, Matut decided he needed to expedite the delivery and recommended that the mother undergo a vacuum-assisted delivery, court documents said.

For about 30 minutes, Matut applied and released the vacuum to the infant’s head 12 times, the lawsuit alleges. At 10:14 p.m., the mother was instructed to push on her own. After 36 minutes of pushing, Dr. Matut reapplied and released the vacuum at least another three times before giving the mother an episiotomy and delivering the baby at 10:58 p.m., the lawsuit alleges.

The court documents describe the infant’s condition at birth. He didn’t cry, was limp, and his head was swollen. He was immediately transferred to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit in critical condition.

When his condition didn’t improve, he was transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, where he died the following night at 10:58 p.m., the lawsuit said. His cause of death was hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock caused by a massive subgaleal hematoma.

Matut, court documents said, “acted with a reckless and conscious disregard of the just rights and safety of the infant-plaintiff decedent, in a manner that constituted an extreme departure from ordinary care and in a situation where a high degree of danger was apparent under all of the circumstances then and there present.”

The lawsuit alleges negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and recklessness by Greenwich Hospital, Yale New Haven Health, Summit Health and Matut for inappropriately using the vacuum, failing to abandon the device, using it for more than 15 minutes, failing to recommend a cesarean section, and ignoring the mother’s request for a c-section after a failed vacuum delivery, among other allegations.

“Greenwich Hospital is aware of this lawsuit and is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible,” a hospital spokeswoman said in a statement, the Hartford Courant reported. “While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, we have offered our deepest condolences to the family.”

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