A Bangor hospital’s failure to test and treat a pregnant woman for syphilis left her twins with developmental delays, according to a new lawsuit.
Alanna Love of Alton gave birth to twins on Aug. 30, 2022, at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. The children were diagnosed with congenital neurosyphilis about nine months later and treated at the same hospital, a lawsuit filed Thursday in Penobscot County Superior Court said.
Three and a half years later the babies continue to live with developmental delays, Love’s attorney Travis Brennan said.
“The delay in diagnosis of congenital syphilis had a devastating impact on both Alanna and her babies,” Brennan said.
The hospital and the system are accused of negligence and liability by failing to test Love while she was pregnant for the sexually transmitted infection as required under Maine law, and by not properly evaluating and diagnosing her, the lawsuit said. The hospital also failed to test the babies for syphilis when they were born. Love asked a judge to award an unspecified amount of compensatory damages.
Syphilis is treated with penicillin but untreated can cause development delays in babies, the lawsuit said.
Northern Light does not comment on pending litigation, spokesperson Suzanne Spruce said.
Maine law requires every pregnant woman to be tested for syphilis.
“There was a sense of betrayal that Alanna trusted her medical providers to take care of her and take care of the babies,” Brennan said.
The failure to test for the infection started on Feb. 15, 2022, when a Northern Light nurse incorrectly entered details in Love’s medical chart, the lawsuit said. Love’s twin pregnancy was confirmed as viable just a week earlier.
The nurse recorded that Love had a negative syphilis test on Jan. 7, 2022, at St. Joseph Hospital when it had in fact happened a year earlier, according to the lawsuit.
Love attended another appointment Feb. 16 that year, where she had testing ordered for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonas vaginalis, HPV and HIV. But there was no test ordered for syphilis, the lawsuit said,
Medical providers also documented a rash on Love’s chest that spread to her arm, the lawsuit said. She also disclosed information that “put her at high risk for syphilis.”
Love attended at least 17 medical appointments during her pregnancy and was never screened for syphilis, the lawsuit said.
The doctor that delivered her babies did not confirm that Love had tested negative for the infection and did not order the twins be tested, the lawsuit said.
On Oct. 3, 2022, Love brought the babies back to the hospital because one was in obvious pain, was not eating as much and was crying more, the lawsuit said. X-rays showed fractures to the femurs and on a lower leg, the lawsuit said.
Love told doctors she did not know of any injury that could have caused the fractures in both twins.
The hospital diagnosed the babies with “non-accidental trauma” and called the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, which took custody of the kids for seven and a half months.
“Alanna was devastated by losing custody of her babies and being accused of abusing them,” the lawsuit said.
The babies spent seven and a half months in foster care where they “experienced chronic congestion, respiratory distress, failure to thrive, and developmental delays,” the lawsuit said.
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to be separated from their kids and wrongly accused of causing harm to their babies,” Brennan said.
Love tested positive for syphilis in May 2023 and was treated with penicillin, the lawsuit said. Love told Northern Light Women’s Health and the health system then screened the babies.
They were diagnosed with congenital neurosyphilis and received 14 days of IV penicillin at the hospital, the lawsuit said. The babies were discharged from the hospital to Love, the lawsuit said.
The missed diagnosis caused the babies’ injuries, including multiple long bone fractures, anemia, narrowing or collapsing nasal passages and developmental delays, the lawsuit said.
“It truly is shocking that Alanna was never tested for this completely treatable infection during her pregnancy, and as a result of that failure to treat both her babies developed neurosyphilis,” Brennan said.