On April 4, 2009, three babies were born to a California couple. The three triplets were healthy upon arrival, but one took a turn for the worse shortly after entering the world.

According to sources, the mother had the three babies via Caesarean section. In a routine move following surgery, the mother was told that she would be given morphine to help relieve some of her pain. She did not object. The problem, however, is that the medical professional at the hospital put the morphine in the wrong IV, a mistake that has led to the family suing the hospital for medical malpractice.

When the hospital attempted to give morphine to the mother after her surgery, she happened to be holding one of the newborn babies right at that moment. Reports claim that the mother's and her daughter's IVs got mixed up and the morphine was accidentally put into the infant's IV tube.

Once the morphine was administered, the infant's mother and the hospital professionals noticed that something went critically wrong with the baby. Her heartbeat slowed down and the staff had to hook her up to tubes in order to regulate her breathing.

The hospital did not immediately understand what happened, and sources claim that once the hospital suspected that there was morphine in the struggling infant's system, the staff treated the mother as though she had somehow been responsible for her daughter's condition.

Soon, the hospital came around and realized that their staff was in the wrong. Lucky for all involved, the newborn survived the medical mistake and is healthy today, but her family has pushed forward in holding the hospital responsible for its error.

The hospital had to pay a $50,000 fine to state health officials, but they are also in the process of trying to settle the medical malpractice case filed against them by the family. Mediation between the family and hospital was scheduled to take place today.

Resource

ktla.com: Parents Sue Hospital After Newborn Given Morphine (8/17/2010)