For over 21 years, Scott Schlyer has been afflicted with cerebral palsy after doctors failed to perform an emergency C-section during his birth at a Washington State clinic. Medical staff never called for a specialist when the baby’s blood pressure rose dramatically and his heart rate dropped. Despite being aware of the situation, the attending physician was absent for more than two hours, and, by the time he returned, Scott’s head was stuck in the birth canal and his umbilical cord was being depressed by contractions. When Scott was later delivered by an obstetrician blue and oxygen-deprived, there was no one qualified to resuscitate him and no resuscitation equipment in the birthing room. Suffering from seizures, the baby was transported by ambulance to a children’s hospital three hours later. Today, Scott cannot speak, feed or clothe himself and will require full-time care for the rest of his life. His parents filed a lawsuit in May 1983, which settled for an undisclosed amount.
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