Recent Verdicts and Settlements (Continued from page 39)
more fluid by IV; and (3) giving several doses of Ephedrine, the drug of choice for correcting hypotension. None of these proved effective. The mother’s blood pres- sure remained in the 70/30 range for approximately 15 to 18 minutes before the baby was delivered by C-Section. The baby had zero APGARS at birth and was finally resuscitated. The cord blood gases as birth showed a PH of 6.69.
Allegations of Liability: It was alleged that the anesthesiologists were negligent in fail- ing to properly hydrate the mother before the anesthesia, failing to determine the source of the drop in blood pressure be- fore giving additional anesthesia and in failing to take alternate measures to cor- rect the hypotension. It was alleged that the obstetrician was negligent in failing to do an emergency C-Section within 5 minutes of the mother’s hypotension in- stead of waiting approximately 15 minutes before starting the C-Section. Also, after birth, the obstetrician performed a previ- ously planned sterilization procedure without advising the mother of the status
of her baby. Claims were brought for lack of informed consent and wrongful steril- ization.
Damages: Within several hours after birth, the baby began having seizures. Ul- timately, the baby suffered profound brain injury and developed spastic quadraplegia, cortical blindness, cortical deafness, pro- found cerebral palsy and mental retardation. It was projected that the baby will have a life expectancy at least into her 20s and possibly longer and will require round-the-clock medical care for the re- mainder of her life. Her yearly future medical expenses were projected at ap- proximately $380,000.
Settlement: The hospital and anesthesi- ology defendants reached a settlement with the plaintiffs prior to trial. The ob- stetrician elected to try the case but after evidence was concluded and before clos- ing arguments, settled his portion of the case. These settlements had a total present value of $5.675 million.
Plaintiffs’ Experts: Timothy Gilbert, M.D. (Anesthesia) Baltimore Maryland; Robert Lechner, M.D. (Anesthesia)
Jeffersonton, Virginia; Michael Ross, M.D. (Obstetrics) McLean, Virginia
Defense Experts: Gary Helmbrecht, M.D. (Maternal Fetal Medicine) South Dakota; Kenneth Rothfield, M.D. (An- esthesia) Leonardtown, Maryland
Plaintiffs’ Counsel: Stuart M. Salsbury (MTLA member), Wendy Shiff (MTLA member) and the firm of Israelson, Salsbury, Clements & Bekman, L.L.C., Baltimore, MD
________
Anonymous Plaintiffs v. Anonymous Hospital and Physicians Circuit Court for Baltimore County
Facts: Plaintiffs, the parents of a 5-week- old infant, brought their child to the emergency room of anonymous hospital at 9:30 a.m. Plaintiffs reported to the tri- age nurse that infant was experiencing difficulty breathing, decreased crying, two-day history of poor feeding, decreased urine output, gas pains and not acting in his usual manner. The triage nurse ex- amined the infant and noted that he was dusky, grunting and had dry mucous
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Trial Reporter
Summer 2001
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