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…
Articles Posted in Labor and Delivery Negligence
State Supreme Court Affirms Plaintiffs’ Ability to Enlarge the Time to Serve Process
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…
Jury Verdict Favors Hospital in Newborn’s Strep Infection That Caused Meningitis and Brain Damage
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…
Report Find 35% of Childhood Cerebral Palsy Cases Could Have Been Prevented
In a recent report it was stated that cerebral palsy affects nearly 10,000 newborns every year. The statistics are more troubling in that research shows that 25-35% of all cerebral palsy cases could have been prevented. It has been reported that medical errors during or after the delivery of a…
Cook County Jury Finds Newborn’s Brachial Plexus Injury Occurred in the Absence of Medical Negligence
Beatriz Escobar received prenatal care from the defendant obstetrician, Dr. Daniel Rostein. She was admitted to MacNeal Hospital for induction of labor at 38 weeks gestation on the afternoon of Oct. 3, 2005. On admission, she was given Pitocin at progressively increased dosages throughout the evening. After fetal monitor strips…
Tragedy of Delayed Delivery of Full-Term Baby; Preeclampsia Is a Factor
Most recently, I have heard from mothers who have tragically lost a full-term baby for inexplicable reasons. In one particular case, the mother called me to talk about why her full-term child died in utero. She said that all of her prenatal care was uneventful. In fact, just 3 days…
Death of Baby Claimed by Delayed Delivery Ends in Jury Verdict for Doctors
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…
$23.1 Million Jury Verdict in Failure to Treat Preeclampsia
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…
$1.5 Million Jury Verdict in Lawsuit Over Delayed Cesarean Section
Stacy Maxberry attempted a vaginal birth after a Cesarean section birth. This is often referred to as “V-back.” During the delivery, the fetal monitor showed repetitive decelerations, a dangerous sign for the unborn child. The obstetrician in charge of the birth was Dr. Matthew Whitted, who was contacted about the…
$18.27 Million Jury Award in Failure to Comply with Standing Orders of Obstetrician
During Tristan Hamilton’s delivery, his mother was given Pitocin to induce labor. The treating obstetrician instructed attending nurses to give no more than 20 milli-units of Pitocin to allow only four contractions every ten minutes. The nurses did not follow those instructions. Because of the excessive amount of Pitocin given…