Alice Sodjago was in labor when she was admitted to a hospital. The nurse who treated her performed a vaginal exam and noted the presence of heavy meconium. The fetal monitor revealed fetal distress. The nurse contacted a midwife who did not call the on-call obstetrician. About 20 minutes later, the midwife arrived at the hospital and called the obstetrician. Sodjago’s daughter was delivered by Caesarean section almost 40 minutes later.
As a result of oxygen deprivation, the baby, now 8 years old, suffers from cognitive impairment and cortical blindness.
Sodjago and her husband, individually and on behalf of their 8-year-old daughter, filed a lawsuit against the hospital and the midwife claiming that they chose not to perform a timely emergency Caesarean section delivery, which would have saved the baby and prevented the devastating brain damage caused by the delay in delivery.
After the jury trial, the jury entered a verdict of $3 million finding that the midwife was 60% at fault and the hospital was 40% liable for the negligence of the nurse who chose not to timely call the on-call obstetrician, but did so 20 minutes later, which was too late.
The attorneys representing the Sodjago family were John M. Howard and Geoffrey E. Pope.
Sodjago v. Pediatrix Medical Group of Georgia, No. 12 EV 015750D (Ga. St. Ct. Fulton County, Aug. 28, 2014).
Kreisman Law Offices has been successfully handling birth trauma injury cases, cerebral palsy injury cases and medical negligence cases for individuals and families who have been injured or killed by the negligence of a medical provider for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Chicago (Marquette Park, Chatham, Englewood, Burnside, Pullman, Lake Calumet, Washington Heights, Beverly), Blue Island, Alsip, Harvey, Calumet City, Orland Park, Glenview, Lincolnwood, Lincolnshire, Schiller Park, Willow Springs, South Holland, Rolling Meadows, Sauk Village, Roselle, Markham, Matteson, Maywood, Melrose Park, Midlothian and Morton Grove, Ill.
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