CHANDLER, Arizona—A dad is filming his twin daughters’ first moments of life at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center when doctors drop their then-3-pound baby Morgan onto her head.
“No one can prepare you for seeing the negligence, seeing them carelessly handle her,” said their mom, Monique Rodgers.
“This is a baby. She’s fragile. She’s 3 pounds, and you’re handling her like she’s a sack of potatoes, like she’s not a human being.”
Monique and her husband Derrick said when they confronted the doctor about what happened, they got no apology.
“I showed him the video, and he was speechless. He didn’t say anything,” said Derrick.
Warning: This video contains graphic content and may be upsetting for some viewers.
A Valley couple is speaking out after posting a video on social media showing a hospital employee dropping their newborn baby in the delivery room. STORY: https://bit.ly/2XWS1pM
Posted by ABC15 Arizona on Thursday, May 2, 2019
Derrick Rodgers was the one who recorded the video, but “it made me so mad. Like, I had to stop recording,” he said.
Rodgers asked the doctor about the incident.
“I told him, ‘You dropped my baby,’” the father said.
He added: “[The doctor] had like a nonchalant look on his face. Then I showed him the video, and he had nothing to say after that.”
Morgan spent 12 days in the NICU, and once they were home Monique noticed her shaking, so she took her to a new doctor.
She said that doctor had Morgan’s paperwork and noticed an ultrasound was ordered by the hospital five days after birth due to her low birth weight, and the results showed she had a grade 1 brain hemorrhage.
Monique said she had no idea testing was done at all.
“No matter how small it is, I should’ve been notified that she was having an ultrasound done. I should’ve been notified of the results,” she said.
My twin girls were born 2/14/19 at Chandler Regional in Chandler, AZ and my daughter Morgan was dropped on her head due to the negligence of the staff. I was never notified she was dropped nor were there any tests done due to them dropping her. I would like to prevent this from happening to other children being born at this hospital. ***EDIT***I forgot to mention that a she spent a total of 12 days in the NICU due to her being 3lbs 4oz when born. A head ultrasound was done on day 5 and I was also not notified that this was being done due to her low birth weight and I was never given the results of this test. She has a grade 1 hemorrhage on the left side of her brain and I am not sure if that was due to her being dropped or her low birth weight. I did not find out that this test was done and the results of this test until this past Saturday when I brought up a different concern to her doctor.Please share my video.
Posted by Mo Rodgers on Wednesday, May 1, 2019
The Rodgers are now wondering if the drop was a factor in their daughter’s brain bleeding.
But Dr. Greg Marchand, an OBGYN unaffiliated with the case, said that type of non-severe hemorrhage isn’t surprising in this baby, with or without the drop.
“It’s certainly not abnormal, in fact, pretty common in low birth weight babies,” Marchand said.
But he did say there was a clear lack of communication from the doctors to the family.
“I did see the video and it was pretty disturbing,” said Marchand. “When you know that a mistake has happened, it is common practice to admit it as quickly as possible and give full disclosure to the family.”
Now, Monique and Derrick are hoping to get more answers and praying their baby is OK.
“As a mother, you’re supposed to be your child’s protector, and I felt like I couldn’t do that, that day,” said Monique.
Baby Morgan is scheduled to see a neurologist in August.
“It’s just traumatic”
Posted by The Epoch Times on Friday, May 3, 2019
Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center sent Arizona’s Family the following statement on Thursday:
“Because of patient privacy laws and a request from the family not to release information, we are unable to comment specifically on this matter. The safety of our patients and their families is always our top concern. The medical team at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center takes this matter extremely seriously and is working to conduct a comprehensive review.”
Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
