New York Medical Malpractice Attorneys

$3,000,000-Birth injury - Jury verdict for injuries involving necrotizing enterocolitis

F&F# 83360A

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE-BIRTH INJURY-NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS-SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME

Jury Verdict:    $3,000,000

Breakdown: $500,000 for past pain and suffering; $2,500,000 for future pain and suffering (57) years. Jamaica Hospital settled for $17,500 prior to trial.

Injuries:

Ramon was 7 weeks premature. The infant was transferred to Long Island Jewish Medical Center and developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) when he was 4 days old. He spent the first 19 months of his life at Long Island Jewish where they performed six operations and removed portions of his ilium, jejunum, and descending colon, a total of 70% of his intestines. Pltf. claimed that prematurity caused the NEC, which then resulted in short bowel syndrome. Pltf. has ten watery bowel movements per day and his condition is permanent.

Facts:

On 9/18/78, Pltf.'s mother, in her third trimester of pregnancy, presented to Jamaica Hospital with complaints of bleeding. She was examined and released. The next day, on 9/19, she presented to Catholic Medical Center (CMC) with continued complaints of bleeding. She was admitted, but physicians found that she was not in labor and had a closed cervix. A resident at CMC, Dr. Fuentes, had a plan to rule out placenta previa and start tocolytic therapy with Vasodilan if contractions started.

Pltf. contended that CMC failed to start tocolytic therapy in a timely fashion. Pltf. contended that Dr. Fuentes was negligent for not consulting with an attending doctor. Contractions began at 1:15 AM on 9/20/78, but Dr. Fuentes was not notified until 2:15 AM. He did not appear and start tocolytic therapy until 3:15 AM. By 7:15 AM, Pltf.'s mother was 6 cm dilated and the infant was born at 9:30 AM.

Defts. argued that tocolytic therapy would not have prevented prematurity and that Vasodilan was never approved as a tocolytic. Deft. called Pltf.'s treating pediatric gastroenterologist who testified that the child was doing well.

The jury found, by special interrogatory, that CMC failed to administer tocolytic therapy properly and that this hospital negligence was a proximate cause of Pltf.'s injuries. The jury also found that Jamaica Hospital was negligent but found no proximate cause. A medical malpractice panel had found no liability against Jamaica Hospital or Catholic Medical Center.