The infant Plaintiff was born on August 16, 1993 at the Defendant Hospital New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (Kings County Hospital Center) at 29 weeks of gestation via a Cesarean Section.
The Plaintiff mother was admitted to Defendant Hospital Kings County Hospital on August 2, 1993 due to vaginal bleeding. She was also passing blood clots. A sonogram showed a double footling breach. On August 3, 1993 a complete placenta previa (separating placenta)was confirmed as the reason for the clots and the bleeding. This should have indicated fetal distress as the infant Plaintiff was not fully connected with the Plaintiff mother. On August 16, 1993, the Fetal Heart Monitor in fact showed gaps in the tracing at around 7.40pm and again at 8.05pm. Dexamethasone was only then administered. Vaginal bleeding was noted at 9.15pm, 9.20pm and at 10.15pm. The infant Plaintiff was ultimately delivered via a C-Section only at 10.39pm on August 16, 1993 in a depressed state and had Apgar scores of 1 at 5 minutes and 6 at 10 minutes. On the following morning at about 1.15am the infant Plaintiff was noted to have Apgar scores of 3 at 1 minute and 5 at 5 minutes and his Moro and rooting reflexes were noted to be absent. A head sonogram indicated periventricular leukomalacia, a profound and intractable brain injury. The Plaintiff mother’s placental path report noted that fetal side of placenta was “steel blue”. The infant Plaintiff remained hospitalized for about 2 months.
Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successfully maintained that Defendant New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (Kings County Hospital Center), its agent and employees, departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to: (1) timely manage uterine bleeding; (2) timely perform a cesarean section; (3) timely initiate Dexamethasone therapy; (4) prevent intracerebral hemorrhage; (5) improperly administering tocolytic therapy; (6) diagnose and respond to fetal distress and lack of beat to beat variability; (7) to timely and properly administer corticosteroids.
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