$6,000,000 Settlement

Our client, at the age of 25, had an uneventful pregnancy and delivered a healthy newborn baby at a hospital located in Queens, New York. The newborn baby had a mild and routine case of jaundice, which is a slight yellowing of the skin. The treatment for newborn jaundice is phototherapy, which requires the newborn baby to be covered only with a diaper and eye protection and placed into a warming isolette (a small bed with a clear enclosure) while special bilirubin lights shine on the baby. This rids the body of jaundice. During phototherapy treatment, it is critically important to monitor the baby’s vital signs and temperature to protect against a temperature drop, since newborns require a thermal-neutral environment to survive. After a few hours of phototherapy treatment, one of the hospital nurses removed our client’s child from his isolette for a routine breastfeeding and found the child limp, unresponsive, blue in color, and cold to touch. Although our client’s child was quickly revived, there was a period of time where not enough oxygen was delivered to his brain. As a result, he suffered brain damage and now copes with mild cerebral palsy.

Our law firm filed a lawsuit against the hospital for failing to properly monitor our client’s child and for failing to maintain a thermal-neutral environment inside his isolette. The defense asserted that the hospital properly monitored the child and maintained a thermal-neutral environment. They alleged that the child suffered from an unexplained apneic event similar to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), whereby the child stopped breathing but was quickly found and revived by hospital staff, saving the child’s life. The defense further asserted that although the child lives with cerebral palsy, the injuries were not severe enough to warrant a significant damages award.

After extensive discovery, the defense made a motion for Summary Judgment to the Court, seeking to dismiss the case, which our law firm vigorously opposed. The Queens County Supreme Court agreed with our position and determined that there were questions of fact that must be presented to a Queens County jury. The defendants appealed the Court’s denial of Summary Judgment to the Appellate Division, Second Department. Our law firm filed a strong opposition to the defendants’ appeal. While the appeal was pending, and just prior to oral argument, the parties agreed to mediation. After a full day of presentations and negotiations, the case settled for $6 million.

In addition to financial security, since this case involved a child who sustained a neurological injury during the labor and delivery hospital admission, our client’s child will receive full medical coverage for life through the New York Medical Indemnity Fund.