New York Medical Malpractice Attorneys

$3,250,000-Failure to monitor preterm labor and delivery - Failure to respond to the signs of cord compression and/or ischemia

Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald Case #A02078

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, BRAIN DAMAGE, RIGHT EYE ESTROPIA

Jury Verdict: $3,250,000

Injuries:     

• Global Developmental Delays
• Delayed Motor & Speech Skills
• Delay in cognitive and socialization skills
• Brain Damage
• Intellectual & Motor Deficits
• Right Eye Estropia
• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Facts and Claim of Liability:    

The infant was born on August 23, 1999 at Defendant Hospital NYU DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL a 32 weeks gestation via a vaginal delivery.

Plaintiff mother had a placental presentation history during previous pregnancies. She had 2 children; both via C-Sections. She had had 2-3 early abortions.

On August 16, 1999, at 10.40 am the Plaintiff mother had vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal pressure. By 11.00am she was admitted to NYU DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL and was told that her placenta had moved. The bleeding continued till about 3.00pm. On the following morning the mother’s water ruptured. She was administered antibiotics upon evidence of membrane leakage. She had light contractions on and off. She was advised complete bed rest and was placed on an external monitor. Other than this nothing was done by the Defendant Hospital for the next four days.

On the eve of August 22, 1999 the mother went into labor. Plaintiff mother requested vaginal delivery. The doctors kept to this request despite the poor fetal heart tracing, fetal tachycardia, lack of beat-to-beat variability and terminal bradycardia. The mother was then administered dexamethasone and later epidural. By about 12.20am the infant Plaintiff was chorioamnionitic by being exposed to unidentified endotoxins in utero, and the Fetal Heart Monitoring showed 170-180 decels for 30 seconds. Plaintiff mother developed a Fetal Membrane Infection in the late evening/early morning of August 22/August 23 and became fully dilated.

The infant Plaintiff was born at about 3.51 am on August 23 with the cord tightly wrapped around nucal. He weighed 3lbs 15oz at birth and had Apgar scores of 5, 7 and 8. Immediately after birth the infant Plaintiff suffered severe perinatal asphyxia hypoxic ischemic injury or hypoxic insult. He was placed in NICU. He was intubated and hooked up to a breathing tube. Later he was placed under lights for 10 days due to jaundice. Personnel there had begun and then discontinued a sepsis workup after infant Plaintiff’s blood cultures showed negative results for the presence of any infection. On September 1, 1999 and ultrasound of the head of the infant Plaintiff revealed bilateral hemorrhage. On September 6, 1999 the infant Plaintiff was declared well and discharged. He weighed 4lbs 4oz.

Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successfully argued that Defendants’ Vorayut Saranbanchang, M.D, Shiu Hung So, M.D and NYC Down Town Hospital, its agent and employees, departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to (1) monitor preterm labor and delivery; (2) respond to the signs of cord compression and/or ischemia; (2) react to fetal distress, lack of beat-to-beat variability and terminal bradycardia; (3) timely diagnose and treat acute chorioamnionitis; (4) in exposing the infant Plaintiff to infection in the womb; (4) diagnose and treat placental dysfunction; (4) suggest/perform cesarean section; and (5) to adequately treat infant Plaintiffs bilateral hemorrhage.