ABC Law Centers Secures $9 Million Settlement for Child With HIE

This is a birth injury case.  Plaintiff was a 29-year-old pregnant patient with maternal obesity. As a result, she was monitored prenatally with non-stress tests and ultrasounds. Test results were all normal.

At 38 weeks gestation, Plaintiff had an abnormal NST at the hospital which required that she be admitted and delivered. Instead, she was sent home.

She went to the hospital 3 days later and reported that she had decreased fetal movement for the last 3 days. She was placed on a fetal monitor which showed her baby had suffered a brain injury from not getting enough oxygen (called hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy—HIE).

An emergency C/S was performed. Apgars were 1/4/7. Cord gasses were: 6.78/-21, suggesting profound metabolic acidosis. Seizures occurred after birth. Hypothermia cooling was performed to treat the brain injury.

In the first few years of life, the baby seemed to meet many milestones and only be slightly delayed.  She did not have cerebral palsy.  As she grew older, she fell further and further behind and by age 6 was in special education with cognitive impairments. Plaintiff’s alleged that she should have been admitted to the hospital 3 days earlier and she would not have suffered a brain injury from HIE.

The case settled after the first day of trial for $9 million.

Type of action: Medical Malpractice/Birth injury

Type of injuries: Physical and cognitive impairments without cerebral palsy.

Experts:  InFocus Research Group

Name of Case/Case No.:  Confidential

Attorneys:  Jesse M. Reiter, Anne L. Randall and James R. McCullen