Obstetrician Negligence

September 22, 2026

$860,000 Settlement in Inadequate Fetal Monitoring Lawsuit

Ms. Doe was admitted to a hospital at 29 weeks gestation. At the time of her hospital admission, she was suffering from vaginal bleeding, and the fetus had decreased fetal movement. She began continuous fetal monitoring and experienced ongoing contractions. The fetal monitoring was unreliable in that the providers had difficulty obtaining and maintaining consistent fetal heart rate tracings.

Ms. Doe experienced decelerations and there was an inability to obtain fetal heart tones. She was then taken to a delivery room, where about 30 minutes passed without a documented fetal heart tracing.

Ms. Doe underwent an emergency Cesarean section, but her child was delivered in need of extensive resuscitation. Despite this effort, the child died. An autopsy revealed no congenital abnormalities.
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November 19, 2025

$7.5 Million Illinois Jury Award in Failure to Respond to Fetal Distress

by Robert Kreisman

Jeryis Flores presented to Chicago’s Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in her 39th week of pregnancy. External fetal monitoring showed a normal heart rate with good beat-to-beat variability.

Approximately eight hours later, the baby was delivered by emergency cesarean section. Despite efforts to resuscitate the child, the baby died.

Flores and her husband sued Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., Advocate North Side Health Network, the attending obstetrician and a labor and delivery nurse; they alleged medical malpractice and wrongful death.
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April 9, 2025

$1.8 Million Settlement in Late Performance of a Cesarean Section, Birth Injury

by Robert Kreisman

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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October 14, 2024

$2.5 Million Settlement in Negligent Prenatal Care in Twin Pregnancy

by Robert Kreisman

Doe received prenatal care at Roe’s obstetrical practice. An ultrasound revealed that she was carrying monochorionic diamniotic twins.

Monochorionic diamniotic twins are a product of a single fertilized egg resulting in genetically identical offspring. The term diamniotic refers to multiple gestations with two distinct placental disks and describes the pregnancy with a distinct amniotic cavity. Dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy is a twin pregnancy in which each fetus has its own placenta and amniotic sac.

Nevertheless, an obstetrician allegedly categorized the twins as dichorionic. At 38 weeks gestation, an ultrasound showed no fetal heartbeat. Doe underwent a cesarean section to deliver her stillborn children.
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September 23, 2024

Untimely Performance of Cesarean Section Results in Confidential Settlement

by Robert Kreisman

Doe’s mother received some of her prenatal care at a federally funded healthcare program. Doe’s mother was admitted to a hospital for induction of labor at more than 40 weeks gestation.

The next day, the fetal monitor allegedly showed prolonged and late decelerations. Approximately two hours later, Baby Doe was delivered by cesarean section.

Doe’s Apgar scores were 1 at 1 minute and 4 at 5 minutes. He was diagnosed as having suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. Doe is now 5 years old and requires 24/7 care. Doe’s family and guardians filed a lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The family alleged negligence by one provider and the hospital. The suit also alleged negligence by another provider and maintained that the provider failed to perform a timely cesarean section that would have prevented the child’s brain damage.
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April 29, 2024

$1.1 Million Settlement in Failure to Perform Cervical Cerclage, Death of Fetus

by Robert Kreisman

Ms. Doe required cervical cerclage to address cervical insufficiency during previous pregnancies. She consulted a maternal-fetal medicine specialist during the 12th week of her fourth pregnancy. After an evaluation, the doctor allegedly offered numerous treatment options to Ms. Doe.

When Ms. Doe returned four weeks later, her cervix measured 23 millimeters. She requested a cervical cerclage given her condition. The cervix measured 20.1 millimeters when another specialist evaluated her less than a week later. In another week, the treating physician scheduled the cerclage.

While Ms. Doe was on her way to the procedure, her cervix failed. She went into labor. Her child was born at approximately 18-weeks gestation and died within an hour of his birth. Ms. Doe sued the two doctors alleging they chose not to perform a timely cervical cerclage. Ms. Doe asserted that the first doctor specialist should have ensured the procedure was performed within four days as Ms. Doe had requested and that the second specialist should have admitted Ms. Doe to the hospital for an urgent cerclage. None of that was done.
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March 6, 2024

$15.75 Million Jury Verdict in Negligent Birth Delivery

by Robert Kreisman

Angelle Morley suffered from gestational diabetes. She was a high risk for having a large baby. When she became exhausted during active labor, her treating obstetrician, Dr. Ralph Dauterive, applied forceps to the baby’s head.

The baby’s left shoulder became impacted on Morley’s pubic bone. It was alleged that Dr. Dauterive used lateral traction to delivery the baby who weighed more than 9 pounds at birth.

The child is now 7 years old and has been diagnosed as having brachial plexus injury, which left him permanently disfigured and with a dysfunctional left shoulder and hand.
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December 6, 2022

$25.4 Million Jury Verdict for Overuse of Pitocin During Labor and Failure to Properly Supervise Resident

by Robert Kreisman

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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May 10, 2022

$16 Million Jury Verdict in Failure to Timely Handle Cesarean Section Delivery

by Robert Kreisman

At 31 weeks gestation, Linnoska Correa had a prenatal visit with obstetrician Dr. Luis Pardo Toro. Correa’s blood pressure during the visit was 136/86 mm Hg, which was appreciably higher than other blood pressure readings during her pregnancy.

The next day, Correa complained of severe stomach pain. She was admitted to the hospital HIMA-San Pablo in Puerto Rico where she was diagnosed as having severe preeclampsia. She was given antibiotics and magnesium sulfate.

Two days later, Correa’s daughter was delivered by cesarean section. The Apgar scores at the time of delivery were 7 at one minute and 8 at five minutes. Correa’s daughter, who is now 8, suffers from severe neurological injuries and quadriplegia, which necessitates 24-hour care daily.
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January 28, 2022

$3 Million Jury Verdict in Negligent Discharge of Obstetrics Patient

by Robert Kreisman

Ms. Doe, 30, had a history of cesarean section, stillbirth and miscarriage. When she became pregnant again, she consulted with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. A plan was put in place for a cesarean delivery at 39 weeks gestation.

During the 37th week of Ms. Doe’s pregnancy, she went to a hospital emergency room complaining of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Although she was sent home, her pain persisted. Ms. Doe was admitted to the hospital two nights later.

The hospital’s hospitalist placed Ms. Doe on a fetal monitor, which changed from normal to indeterminate over a relatively short time span. Ms. Doe’s abdominal pain worsened, but she was discharged with instructions to follow up with her treating obstetrician in the morning.
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