Mom Says Birth Went Awry, Seeks Fetal Monitor Record
6-28-2014 01:49:00


     OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) - A new mother wants Kaiser to give up fetal monitoring strips taken during her son’s birth, in a California Evidence Code petition in Alameda County Superior Court.

     Haneefah Shuaibe petitioned, individually and as guardian ad litem for baby Jacob Shuaibe, under California Evidence Code section 1158, to require Kaiser to produce medical records.
     Specifically, Haneefah Shuaibe and her husband, Karl Peters, want their attorney to be able to see the original paper fetal monitoring strips taken during labor and delivery, she says in the petition.
     Baby Jacob did not receive enough oxygen at least once during the protracted labor and delivery, according to the petition. As a result, he has brain injuries that have, among other things, caused him to have seizures that need to be controlled by medication, the petition states.
     The new parents seek the medical records for the birth, including the original fetal monitoring strips, because they are considering whether the failure to give the boy's mother a Cesarean section, which they requested during labor several times, was conduct below the standard of care and caused baby Jacob's injuries, the petition states.
     According to the petition, the family’s attorney has requested the strips at least 10 times via phone and letter, with no success.
     Meanwhile, mom and baby are also requesting a restraining order barring Kaiser from destroying the originals.
     The petition continues: “Petitioners are concerned by the fact that Kaiser-Permanente has, thus far, refused to produce the requested fetal monitor records that such evidence maybe destroyed or altered, and they are informed and they believed that Kaiser-Permanente has a practice of destroying and altering patient medical records that show that a patient has received negligent treatment.”
     “While respondents may maintain electronic data which they assert could reproduce these records, petitioners are informed and believe that such data can be manipulated by respondents in a manner which conceals the manipulation of such data and make the data falsely report the condition of the fetus during labor and delivery,” it states.
     The petitioners ask the Court to order Kaiser to keep the strips in a safe place under the director of the medical records department’s custody, with no one allowed to view them without the director present, and a log kept showing who viewed them and when. Alternatively, it asks the Court to select an independent third party to safeguard the strips until the Court rules on the rest of the petition.
     Haneefah Shuaibe and baby Jacob seek attorney’s fees and court costs. They are represented by William Campisi, Jr. of Berkeley.
RG14-727350