The infant Plaintiff was born on July 26, 1994 via a vaginal delivery at 23 weeks gestation at the Defendant Hospital, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital.
On July 18, 1994, infant Plaintiff’s mother experienced severe pains and diarrhea. She visited Defendant Hospital, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, who examined her and informed her that she was fine. However, similar conditions continued and she began leaking amniotic fluid. When she returned to Defendant Hospital on July 21, 1994 she was again declared fine and sent home. On July 26, 1994 at midnight the infant Plaintiff’s mother experienced the onset of contractions and was admitted to the Defendant Hospital, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital at about 6.15am. Upon admission she was found to be 3cms dilated. At noon the External Fetal Heart Monitor, on which she was placed, recorded between 140-150 beats with average variability. Only then were the pediatrics advised to see the patient. By 3.15pm the infant Plaintiff’s mother was in active labor. She had bulging membranes without a palpable cord within. The doctors later discovered that she had had acute chorioamnionitis, an infection of the membranes, which caused the premature labor.
At about 5.37pm the infant Plaintiff was born vaginally but was severely depressed and required oxygen as the nuchal cord was wrapped once around his neck. He weighed 1lb 5oz and had Apgar scores of 2/6 at birth. He was immediately evaluated by the pediatrics and taken to NICU. The infant Plaintiff remained in neonatal intensive care at the Defendant Hospital for a little more than 3 months and was discharged on November 2, 1994. He was administered high doses of Oxygen which caused total blindness which could not be corrected in spite of a laser surgery. In addition, while he was in the Defendant Hospital, he developed a thrombosis in his leg from an infection caused by his intravenous line. Due to this the infant Plaintiff’s right leg is shorter than his left.
Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successful argued that Defendant Hospital St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, its agent and employees, departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to: (1) monitor and appropriately respond to diarrhea of the infant Plaintiff’s mother; (2) to prevent dehydration; (3) timely administer tocolyctics and corticosteroids, (4) diagnose and prevent preterm labor, right knee infection and retinopathy of prematurity; and (5) provide and administer appropriate neo-natal care to the infant Plaintiff.
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