Two grieving parents claim the New York doctor who delivered their baby killed him after ‘recklessly’ ignoring guidelines on using a vacuum pump more than a dozen times on their baby’s head.
Danielle Mackenzie was 40 weeks and three days pregnant when she arrived with partner Fabrice Diaz at the Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut for the birth of their son, Alexander, in February.
Dr. Jay Matut allegedly applied a vacuum pump 15 times to the baby’s head in a bid to deliver him, despite NIH guidelines recommending no more than three sets of pulls.
The doctor, who practices ‘minimally invasive surgery,’ ignored the mother’s increasingly frantic pleas for a C-section as the situation deteriorated,’ the suit claims.
Her baby had a swollen and bleeding head when he eventually emerged, before being transferred to a different hospital where he died hours later.
‘Matut acted with a reckless and conscious disregard for the safety of the infant in a situation where a high degree of danger was apparent,’ the lawsuit claims.
Dr. Jay Matut of the Westchester Medical Group is being sued by two grieving parents after allegedly using a vacuum pump 15 times in a bid to deliver their baby who died hours later
Mother Danielle MacKenzie, from Peekskill, New York, had her pleas for a C-section ignored and suffered ‘extreme psychological and emotional distress’
‘As a result of the carelessness and negligence of Jay Matut, Danielle suffered and continues to suffer extreme psychological and emotional distress and impaired ability to carry on and enjoy life’s activities.’
The 31-year-old research manager had enjoyed a ‘normal and healthy’ pregnancy, and took 20 hours to reach full dilation after being admitted to the hospital on February 17.
She had pushed for 90 minutes before Matut applied the vacuum pump for the first time.
He then applied the pump 12 times in succession in a bid to deliver the child, persisting even after the device twice came off the baby’s head.
‘It is recommended that vacuum-assisted deliveries be achieved with no more than three sets of pulls and a maximum of two to three cup detachments or pop-offs,’ the guidelines state.
They also note that ‘the decision to continue with operative vaginal delivery should continuously be re-evaluated during the delivery progresses’.
‘If there is no descent, further attempts should be discontinued and cesarean section considered.’
But after a further half-hour of pushing, he applied the vacuum three more times before giving Danielle an episiotomy, which finally allowed the baby to be delivered.
Baby Alexander was ‘limp,’ had a slow heart rate and did not cry, the lawsuit claims.
Alexander’s father Fabrice Diaz is also a party to the lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital
Greenwich Hospital, where the baby was delivered, in Greenwich, Connecticut, said it is ‘committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible’
He also had a swollen head ‘consistent with a subgaleal hemorrhage between the scalp and the skull.’
He was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where he was intubated in a critical condition.
He was transferred to the nearby Yale New Haven Hospital ‘where his condition continued to deteriorate,’ before he died just before 11pm on February 18.
Dr. Matut has been in practice for more than 20 years after receiving his medical degree from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine.
The couple are seeking punitive damages at a Bridgeport court for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and recklessness against Greenwich Hospital, the Westchester Medical Group (now Summit Health) and Dr. Matut.
‘His care was willful, wanton and/or reckless, and represented an extreme departure from ordinary standards of care in the delivery of a baby where a vacuum assisted delivery has been utilized,’ the suit claims.
A spokesman for the hospital said ‘Greenwich Hospital is aware of this lawsuit and is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible.’
‘While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, we have offered our deepest condolences to the family.’
