Professional Negligence Law Reporter

At the end of her pregnancy, Doe experienced bleeding and pain. She went to the triage unit of Roe hospital, where she was seen by a midwife and first-year resident. Doe was attached to a fetal monitor, which showed decreased variability and some decelerations. Although allegedly called, Doe’s treating ob-gyn did not initially come to the hospital. An hour later, however, a nurse summoned the physician, who arrived at the hospital more than two hours after Doe presented to the facility.

Doe’s daughter was delivered by cesarean section one hour later in a depressed condition. She was diagnosed as having suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, which has resulted in cerebral palsy and developmental delays. Now two-and-a-half, she requires 24-hour care.

The child, Doe, and the child’s father filed a medical negligence suit against the hospital and the doctor, alleging delayed performance of a cesarean section. The plaintiffs alleged that the triage staff failed to identify signs of a placental abruption and failed to tell the ob-gyn about the fetal monitoring abnormalities.

The defense argued that the child had already suffered injury when Doe arrived at the hospital.

The parties settled for $4.5 million.

Citation: Doe v. Roe Hosp., Confidential Dkt. No. (Mich. Confidential Ct. Aug. 2020).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Richard L. Groffsky and Matthew G. Curtis, both of Southfield, Mich.