$3 Million Settlement in Birth Injury/Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit
2018 Confidential Settlement
The mother was 32.3 weeks pregnant with her third daughter when she presented to her OB/GYN with complaints of decreased fetal movement. The OB/GYN administered medication to help develop the baby’s lungs to prepare for an early delivery and set the mother to the hospital for delivery.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the mother was admitted and over the next 6 days was intermittently followed with fetal heart rate monitoring and biophysical profiles. Despite evidence on the fetal monitoring strips and on the biophysical profiles that the baby was in distress (and suffering from a lack of oxygen to her brain), the obstetricians delayed in performing any interventions to get the baby delivered for six days, until the mother suffered from an acute abrupted placenta.
The minor plaintiff was born by c-section and was transferred to the NICU after birth. At approximately 2 weeks old, the minor plaintiff was diagnosed with a right sided 2-3 week old grade III and IV intraventricular brain hemorrhage with evidence of brain damage and presumed HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy) caused by lack of oxygen to the brain around the time of delivery.
The plaintiff was prepared to present expert testimony at trial that the defendant obstetricians were negligent in failing to deliver the minor plaintiff upon the mother’s admission to the hospital and on the subsequent days thereafter due to the worrisome biophysical profiles and fetal monitoring strips.
The plaintiff’s maternal fetal medicine expert was prepared to testify that at the time of admission to the hospital, the baby had a 99% chance of being born without brain damage (neurologically intact) and that the longer the baby remained in utero, the greater the chances the baby had of being born with brain damage. The plaintiffs’ maternal fetal medicine specialist was prepared to testify that the chances of significantly prolonging the pregnancy were minimal and the chances of a poor outcome from prolonging the pregnancy were overwhelming.
The plaintiff’s placental pathology expert was prepared to testify that there was no evidence of severe placental insufficiency, chronic placental insufficiency, placental strokes, severe placental malperfusion, infection, inflammation, chorioamnionitis, funisitis, or anything anomalous on the mother’s placenta.
Plaintiff’s pediatric neurologist was prepared to testify that all of the minor plaintiff’s neurologic impairments were directly related to the injuries she suffered around the time of her birth due to a delayed delivery.
The minor plaintiff, who was 10 at the time of the settlement, is severely disabled and is unable to walk, talk, feed herself, and is completely dependent on her family and caregivers and will be dependent on them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the rest of her life. The settlement will help provide the needed medical and support care the minor plaintiff will require for the rest of her life.
The case settled for $3 Million after a mediation session approximately one month before trial.
Halstrom Law Offices, P.C. attorneys Frederic Halstrom and Ingrid Halstrom represented the plaintiff in this matter.