Facts

Plaintiff mother developed pre-eclampsia, which became severe and resulted in her being hospitalized for induction of labor on March 25, 2009 at almost 37-weeks gestation. On March 26, at 3 p.m., there was a spontaneous rupture of her membranes. By the early morning of March 27, Pitocin was ordered and later that morning defendant Dr. Roe took over Plaintiff's OB care.

The progress of the labor was slow, and when the defendant doctor saw Plaintiff at 2:30 p.m., she was 6 centimeters dilated and 100 percent effaced. Defendant doctor concluded that progress was being made and returned to his office, which was a five-minute walk from the medical center. Shortly after he left, uterine hyperstimulation, and fetal distress developed.

The labor and delivery nurse responded by shutting off the Pitocin at 2:45 p.m. and placing the plaintiff on oxygen. At 2:59 p.m., there was a deceleration into the 80s and the nurse recognized that there was an emergency. At 3 p.m., she notified Dr. Roe of the decreased fetal heart rate, an increase in intrauterine pressure, and increased intensity and frequency of contractions, despite the discontinuance of Pitocin. The condition of the fetus continued to deteriorate, and the nurse called Dr. Roe back at 3:25 p.m. asking him to see the patient. Dr. Roe arrived at 3:35 p.m.

When Dr. Roe arrived, he spent 20 minutes in the labor room trying to rescue the fetus by elevating the fetal vertex and encouraging breathing, relaxation, and position changes. Plaintiff was brought to the operating room at 3:55 p.m. and delivery was accomplished with vaginal forceps at 4:02 p.m. When Baby Doe was born, he did not breathe, had no heart rate, and was limp and pale. His Apgars were 0, 0 and 2 at 1, 5 and 10 minutes. A diagnosis of placental abruption was confirmed when the placenta was delivered, accompanied by 1 liter of blood and a large clot.

Baby Doe had metabolic acidosis, respiratory failure and coagulopathy. He was transferred to another medical center to receive brain cooling. An MRI performed at four days of age confirmed that he had asphyxial brain damage. Baby Doe was hospitalized until April 27, 2009 and has been living with his parents since that time.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that Dr. Roe breached the standard of care in failing to see the patient at the time of the initial call at 3 p.m., and further breached the standard of care in failing to perform an emergency delivery right after he arrived at 3:35 p.m. The nurse breached the standard of care in failing to ask Dr. Roe to see the patient at 3 p.m., and she should have gone up the chain of command when he did not arrive within 10 minutes after her initial telephone call. Additionally, there were contentions concerning whether labor should have continued when there was an increased risk of placental abruption brought about by the preeclampsia and hyperstimulation of the uterus caused by the administration of Pitocin.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defense contended that Dr. Roe took reasonable steps to expedite the delivery, and, once he arrived, delivery was accomplished within 30 minutes. The nurse would have contended that she provided Dr. Roe with the necessary information for him to determine whether or not there was an emergency when she initially spoke to him at 3 p.m. She would have also disputed whether she should have gone up the chain of command when Dr. Roe did not promptly arrive after her telephone call at 3 p.m.

Settlement Discussions

The initial settlement demand was $10,275,000. At the time of the mediation, the doctor had already paid $1 million and various lower offers by the remaining defendants were rejected before $5 million was accepted shortly after the completion of the mediation.

Injuries

Baby Doe's injuries are cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia, dystonia, and truncal and cervical hypotonia. He has severe global delays, seizure disorder, and failure to thrive. According to plaintiffs' expert he will likely require a gastrostomy at age 6, which will affect the level of his attendant care if obtained through an agency. It was anticipated that there would be issues concerning his life expectancy in evaluating damages. There was no dispute that Baby Doe will require round-the-clock care for the rest of his life and that there is a total loss of earning capacity. Plaintiff's special damages were medical liens totaling $86,298. The present value of the lost earning capacity, according to plaintiff's expert, was $2,537,000. The present value of recurring future medical and attendant care was $6,400,149 and the plaintiff claimed one-time future medical costs of $376,713. It was indicated by the defense that their experts were prepared to testify that the present value of the future medical and attendant care was between $3 million and $4 million and that the present value of the lost earning capacity was $645,708.

Result

The parties settled for $6 million.