$27.6 Million Jury Verdict in Inadequate Postpartum Monitoring Results in Cerebral Palsy of Newborn

Erin Gresser suffered from Type 1 diabetes. She was admitted to North Colorado Medical Center after receiving a diagnosis of preeclampsia. Gresser was treated for group B strep infection during her labor and prolonged late decelerations occurred.

Gresser’s daughter, Carina, had Apgar scores of 8 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes and abnormal pH levels. Carina also had hyperbilirubinemia and became tachycardic later the same evening, prompting her admission to the hospital’s ICU for further evaluation and treatment.

Carina suffered episodes of bradycardia and continued tachycardia. The laboratory allegedly reported a positive blood culture with gram-negative rods. Additionally, the gram stain from cerebral spinal fluid was positive for gram-negative rods.

Carina was discharged from this facility with a diagnosis of sepsis and respiratory distress. She was transferred to another hospital’s NICU, where she was intubated.

The next day, Carina was taken to the NICU at a children’s hospital where she was diagnosed as having sepsis, meningitis, seizures, metabolic acidosis and other medical issues. Carina is now five. She has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and developmental delays.

Gresser and her husband, individually and on behalf of Carina, sued Banner Health, alleging its nurses had chosen not to properly monitor Carina after the delivery in light of her mother’s known health conditions. The Gresser family asserted that the nurses had failed to alert Carina’s treating physicians of changes in her condition and also chose not to adequately respond to the child’s deteriorating condition.

The jury signed a verdict for $27.6 million in favor of the Gresser family and Carina.

The attorneys successfully handling this tragic case were Zachary Wool and Melanie Sulkin.

Gresser v. Banner Health, No. 2019-CV-30976 (Colo. Dist. Ct. Weld County).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling birth injury lawsuits, cerebral palsy lawsuits, brain injury cases, maternal injury lawsuits, obstetrician negligence cases, and hospital negligence lawsuits for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 45 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Antioch, South Barrington, Calumet City, Deerfield, Evanston, Franklin Park, Gurnee, Homewood, Highland Park, Itasca, Joliet, Lincolnshire, Mundelein, Chicago (Austin, McKinley Park, Near West Side, Douglas, Kenwood, South Loop, Woodlawn, West Englewood, Gage Park, Archer Heights, Marshall Square, Robbins, Lower West Side, East Pilsen, Humboldt Park, Irving Park, Lakeview, Old Town Triangle), Elmhurst, Berkeley, River Forest, North Riverside, LaGrange and Western Springs, Ill.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.