Articles Posted in Birth Injury

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A 2022 Cook County, Ill., jury verdict was returned in favor of the child and family for $20 million against Advocate Health & Hospitals and its employees. The trial judge then later awarded more than $885,000 in prejudgment interest to the plaintiffs.

A panel of the First District Appellate Court ruled that Advocate Health was not denied a fair trial and that the trial judge correctly awarded the $885,000 in prejudgment interest to the plaintiffs.

The gist of the appeal was that concerning Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction (IPI) Civil No. 15.01 claiming that it failed to provide instruction on sole proximate cause and was incorrectly used at the trial level.
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Lavanya Vennapureddy was admitted to a hospital for a planned induction of labor. An internal monitor was placed on the baby’s scalp by the treating medical providers. The doctors also performed maneuvers to increase fetal perfusion due to the fetal rate monitor revealing continuing stress and decelerations.

However, these measures did not reduce the fetal heart rate. Approximately three hours later, the fetal heart rate allegedly went from tachycardia to bradycardia. Vennapureddy’s treating gynecologist, who performed the emergency cesarean section, was notified.

Vennapureddy’s daughter was born in a significantly depressed condition and was diagnosed as having suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. She was transferred to a children’s hospital but died a few days later.
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Shada Tucker was admitted to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital (Cook County Hospital) to deliver her child. Labor was induced and continued for 16 hours before Tucker underwent an emergency cesarean section. Her newborn son was later diagnosed with having hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and a seizure disorder. Baby Tucker is now 3 years old and suffers from cerebral palsy and severe cognitive deficits requiring 24-hour care.

The Tucker family filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging it chose not to perform a timely cesarean section, resulting in respiratory distress and brain damage to Baby Tucker.

The parties settled before a jury trial for $18 million.

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At 32 weeks gestation, Alexis Willis arrived at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago. She was complaining of a headache and decreased fetal movement. At the hospital, she was diagnosed as having preeclampsia and was connected to a fetal heart monitor. The fetal heart monitor showed variable deceleration and an absence of viability and acceleration.

After about two hours, the fetal heart monitor showed a prolonged deceleration. Willis was taken to the operating room, where the baby’s heart-rate was reported as bradycardic. Bradycardia is a condition where the heart beats more slowly than expected, under 60 beats per minute in adults. Approximately 25 minutes later, Willis’s daughter was born in a depressed condition; the baby required resuscitation. The baby’s Apgar scores were 3 at 1 minute and 5 at 5 minutes. The baby, who is now 7 years old, has been diagnosed as having hypoxic-ischemic brain damage and cerebral palsy.

Willis and the baby’s father sued the hospital and an attending physician, maintaining that they chose not to perform a timely cesarean delivery.
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During the 35th week of pregnancy with twins, Ms. Doe went to her hospital following the premature rupture of her membranes. The twins were delivered successfully by way of a cesarean section. However, several hours after delivery, Ms. Doe developed hypotension tachycardia and other symptoms that did not resolve despite efforts to intervene by the hospital staff. Two hours later, Ms. Doe’s treating obstetrician returned to the hospital and, after about two hours, ordered emergency surgery.

Within thirty minutes of the surgery, Ms. Doe became unresponsive. Despite chest compressions and intubation following her cardiac arrest, Ms. Doe unfortunately died.

Ms. Doe was survived by her children, including her newborn twins. The cause of death reportedly was exsanguination (loss of blood) from internal bleeding caused by the suture dehiscence.
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Rachel Harris was admitted to Truman Medical Center to deliver her child. She was given Pitocin over the course of approximately 6 hours. She was attended by a family practice physician, Dr. Kelly Sandri, and a resident-physician. Harris’s baby suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy.

Harris, on her daughter’s behalf, sued the hospital and Dr. Sandri, alleging excessive administration of Pitocin, which led to the child’s brain damage and birth injury.

Harris also alleged that Dr. Sandri had not properly supervised the resident who also chose not to respond to signs of Pitocin overdose evident on the fetal monitor.
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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.
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On Dec. 16, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court answered a certified question about whether a doctor who injured a fetus can be sued for wrongful death if the patient later consented to an abortion given the condition of the unborn fetus.

Thomas and Mitchell sued two doctors, Drs. Khoury and Kagan, for the wrongful death of their unborn child. The plaintiffs alleged that the doctors committed malpractice, which injured the fetus. This action later resulted in the plaintiffs agreeing to an abortion.

The trial court submitted a certified question to the Illinois Appellate Court asking whether the Illinois Wrongful Death Act bars the plaintiffs’ lawsuit.
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The parents of a minor child noticed that since his birth, he breathed very loudly and made grunting noises. After a five-month period, pediatrician Aqil Surka and Dr. Ann Marie Edward examined the child multiple times and noted his breathing problems. The child’s sleep pattern deteriorated, and he lost weight.

The child (Doe) was brought to the practice after he vomited twice, refused his feeding and did not sleep well at night. Doe was later diagnosed as having aortic stenosis, which required a heart transplant. Doe is now 4 years old, immune-compromised and requires immune-suppressant drugs. Additionally, Doe requires regular cardiac testing and is expected to need a second heart transplant.

Doe’s parents, individually and on his behalf, sued Prisma Health-Upstate, under which the pediatric practice operated, alleging that the pediatrician and others had chosen not to timely diagnose Doe’s congenital heart defect.
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Towanna Neal delivered her daughter prematurely at Prisma Health Richland Hospital. The baby was transferred to the facility’s ICU, where she was fed intravenously.

The child developed an infection at the IV site, which required surgical grafting on her hand. The child later developed a hernia at the graft incision site, which also required surgery.

Although the child recovered, she will require future surgeries to treat her scar tissue.
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