In this birth injury case, Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald represented a child (hereinafter Plaintiff) with cerebral palsy and other injuries. Plaintiff was born on December 5, 1994 at 24 weeks of gestation through spontaneous vaginal delivery.

Plaintiff's mother received prenatal care from the DefendantHospital The Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and Dr. George McMillian. The prenatal period was uneventful.

On December 1, 1994, Plaintiff's mother visited Defendant Dr. McMillian for cramps and vaginal bleeding. She was subsequently admitted to the Defendant Hospital. During her 3 days of hospitalization, numerous events were noted including various decelerations on fetal heart monitoring strips (FHMS), acute chorioamnionitis, funisitis and possibility of low anterior placenta.  She was identified as a “candidate for steroid therapy”.  Membrane rupture was noted one day prior to delivery with irregular uterine contractions. Plaintiff's mother progressed from 0-4 cm dilation for over one and half day without contractions and then she progressed from 4-10 cm dilation in a period of 10 minutes.

Despite alarming signs of the risk of a premature birth, Dr. McMillian ordered “conservative management”. No further tests were conducted to determine the condition of Plaintiff's mother and her unborn child (Plaintiff), no drugs or treatments were provided to ensure the well-being of Plaintiff's mother and Plaintiff.

Specifically, Dr. McMillian failed to administer tocolytics in combination with prophylactic antibiotics when the mother was less than 4 centimeters dilated.  He failed to rule out placenta previa.  He failed to administer corticosteroids to enhance fetal lung maturity.  He failed to assess the amniotic fluid index (AFI).  He failed to consider rescue cerclage when mother was only 2 centimeters dilated.  He failed to make a differential diagnosis of the cause of the variable decelerations.  He failed to consider that the variable decelerations were caused by cord compression, and he failed to perform a C Section when delivery was imminent.  

On December 5, 1994, Plaintiff's mother started leaking Amniotic Fluid at around 12:30 a.m. No signs of labor and contractions were noted. At 2:35 p.m., she was sent to a labor and delivery room.  Plaintiff was delivered at 5.50 p.m, with Apgar scores of 3, 4, and 5 at 1, 5 and 10 minutes, respectively.

Immediately after delivery, Plaintiff was intubated and sent to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). On the second day of life, a germinal matrix bleed was noted. Head sonography revealed large subependymal germinal matrix hemorrhage in the left caudate nucleus, right intraventricular hemorrhage and left intraventricular hemorrhage. CT Scan showed moderate enlargement of lateral and third ventricles and prominence of the sub-arachnoid spaces mostly along the frontal convexity.  The infant Plaintiff remained in the NICU for fifteen months.

Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successfully claimed that the Defendants The Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and Dr. George McMillian departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to: (i) properly monitor the pregnancy of the Plaintiff mother; (ii) timely order and review sonograms; (iii) timely order non-stress tests (NST); (iv) monitor and take heed of the significance of the signs and symptoms of fetal distress like decreased beat to beat variability (BTBV) on the Electronic Fetal Heart Monitor (FHM) and various decelerations; (v) diagnose the risks of and prevent a premature delivery, which resulted in severe and permanent injuries to the infant Plaintiff.

Injuries: The infant Plaintiff has profound global developmental delays. He is mentally retarded. He suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension and seizure disorders. He is unable to sit, stand or walk without help and is confined to a special stroller. He wears braces on both legs. He has undergone several surgeries including heart flap surgery, colostomy, ileostomy and ODA ligation. He is dependent on others for all activities of daily living.