Birth Trauma Results in $7.7 Million Award

Plaintiff was undergoing a cervical ripening on an antenatal floor.  Plaintiffs alleged that the failure to transfer her to Labor & Delivery in a prompt fashion in spite of regular fetal heart rate decelerations resulted in a 20 minute or more delay in Caesarean section.  Defendants argued that the case involved an amniotic fluid embolus which was unforeseeable and carries with it a high mortality and morbidity rate for both mother and child.  The child, now 2 years old, suffers cerebral palsy and cognitive impairment.