New York Medical Malpractice Attorneys

$3,750,000.00-Medical Malpractice: Cerebral Palsy, Hearing Loss and Global Delays

F&F #A04063:

Cerebral Palsy, Hearing Loss and Global Delays

Settlement:     $3,750,000.00

Injuries:

• Cerebral Palsy;
• Cognitive deficits;
• Motor deficits;
• Spastic diplegia;
• Global delays;
• Bilateral hearing loss;
• Speech and Language delays; and
• Loss of ability to talk.

Facts & Allegations:     

The infant plaintiff was born at the Defendant Hospital New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (Elmhurst Hospital Center) at 34 weeks of gestation via a vaginal delivery.

Plaintiff mother, prior to her pregnancy with the infant Plaintiff, had several vaginal deliveries.

On March 6, 1996, the Plaintiff mother started having mild labor pains and heavy bleedings from 8:00 a.m. As the pains and bleeding persisted, the Plaintiff mother went to Elmhurst Hospital Center’s Emergency Room at around 12:00 noon.

Upon admission, the Plaintiff mother was examined. She was directly placed in the labor room and attached with an external Fetal Heart Monitor (FHM). At 14:00 p.m., the Plaintiff mother was noted to be 4-5 centimeters dilated. No medication or treatment was given to prevent or delay the premature labor. Instead, Pitocin was given to augment the labor. The Plaintiff mother was noted to be 5-6 centimeters dilated at 16:00 p.m. and 6-7 centimeters dilated at 17:00 p.m. After Pitocin was administered until 17:00 p.m., the Fetal Heart Monitor Strips (FHMS) showed a low beat-to-beat variability (BTBV) and multiple variable decelerations which were in fact indications of cord compromise. Accordingly, a Cesarean section should have been performed, however, the Defendant Hospital responded to the variability and the decelerations by increasing Pitocin which led to severe variable declarations at 17:20 p.m., ten minutes before the delivery.

At 17:31 p.m., the infant Plaintiff was delivered vaginally at the normal labor and delivery room. He weighed 3 lbs 3 ounces. At birth, the infant Plaintiff was noted to have Cephalohematoma with bruises on his face, both hands and left foot. As no pediatrician was present at the time of birth, the infant Plaintiff was not provided with immediate and proper resuscitation. His cord blood dropped from 7.2 at birth to 6.9 causing severe metabolic acidosis. Neonatal records further indicated that the infant Plaintiff’s acidosis was not corrected until 21:00 p.m., when NAHCO3 was administered. The infant Plaintiff remained hospitalized for three months.

Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successfully argued that New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (Elmhurst Hospital Center), its agent and employees, departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to: (1) prevent premature labor; (2) respond to the signs of cord compression and/or ischemia and perform a timely Cesarean section; (3) react to fetal distress, minimal variability and worsening decelerations; (4) provide immediate and adequate pediatric treatment at the time of birth; (5) properly and timely resuscitate the infant Plaintiff; (6) timely diagnose acidosis; and (7) administer Bicarbonate, which resulted in severe and permanent injuries to the infant Plaintiff

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.