Emanuel A. Friedman M.D. introduced the Friedman Curve in 1955. In a recently submitted article written by Michigan lawyers Jesse M. Reiter and Emily G. Thomas, the authors and stalwarts of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group write that the gold standard for assessing the normal and abnormal progress of labor…
This was a birth injury case in which the jurors were asked to award up to $7.5 million for a life care plan for the baby girl, Jill Todd, as well as $1.4 million in lost wages and an unspecified amount of damages for pain and suffering. The issue in…
A Cook County jury entered its verdict in favor of the defendant obstetrician, Dr. Cynthia Page, following a trial claiming that the birth of Anthony Ruiz was delayed causing him a lifetime of cognitive deficits. The family of Anthony Ruiz, a minor, claimed in their Cook County, Ill., lawsuit that…
This was a medical malpractice and wrongful death case of a newborn baby. The issue on appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court was whether the defendants’ (two physicians and hospitals) motion to dismiss predicated on the plaintiff’s (the family of the newborn) failure to timely serve summonses on these defendants…
On April 6, 2007, Dramara Sviels was born at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill. During the delivery, Dramara contracted Group B Streptococcus infection, which was claimed not diagnosed before Dramara was discharged from the hospital the next day. As a result of the infection, it progressed to very serious…
Zofran is an anti-nausea drug. It has been linked to serious birth defects when used during pregnancy. In 2015, a federal panel created the special multidistrict litigation docket for victims who had been using the Zofran drug made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The defendant, GSK, filed a motion in this federal…
When an infant is tragically injured during childbirth by the negligence of an obstetrician, nurse wife or nurse, the defense, with few exceptions, relies on medical publications. Most of these publications come from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). On the other hand, a plaintiff’s neuroradiology expert would…
Carol and Keith Klaine filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Frederick Dressen D.O. and Southern Illinois Medical Services d/b/a The Center for Medical Arts. In an amended complaint, the plaintiffs added a party defendant, Southern Illinois Hospital Services d/b/a St. Joseph Memorial Hospital and Memorial Hospital of Carbondale (SIHS), for…
On Sept. 17, 2009 Crystal McFadden was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in full-term labor. Her care was managed by a team of resident obstetricians under the direction of the defendant, Dr. Jeffrey Dungan, the supervising attending obstetrician. During the course of her labor, the residents and nursing staff documented…
Iala Suarez was 24 weeks pregnant when she went to her obstetrician, Dr. Michael Coffey, for a regularly scheduled appointment. During that visit, testing showed that she had protein in her urine and high blood pressure. The next day, she went to the Peace River Medical Center, where she underwent…