A Hospital's Delayed C-Section Left an Infant With Permanent Brain Damage. A Gwinnett County Jury Returned $30.5 Million.

Zetah Louis was 35 weeks pregnant when a routine ultrasound flagged a serious problem: her baby showed reversal of end-diastolic blood flow through the umbilical cord, a sign of dangerous fetal stress that demands urgent intervention. Rather than preparing for an immediate cesarean delivery, the obstetric team sent her to Gwinnett Medical Center for a consult.

At the hospital, the situation did not improve. A follow-up test ordered on a STAT basis was not performed in a timely manner, and the window for preventing harm closed. By the time Re'Ayah Louis was delivered, she had suffered a severe hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. She was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, developmental delay, and cortical blindness. Her care requires around-the-clock attention for the rest of her life.

Zetah Louis filed suit against Gwinnett Medical Center and Dr. Willard Hearin, among others. The central claim was that the defendants were negligent in failing to order appropriate consultations, in failing to ensure those consultations were carried out, and in failing to proceed with an emergency cesarean once the fetal monitoring data signaled distress. Two other physicians named in the suit were found not liable by the jury.

Jed Manton of Harris Lowry Manton LLP served as local counsel alongside lead trial attorneys Daniel S. Weinstock and G. Scott Vezina of Philadelphia-based Feldman Shepherd. After a trial lasting approximately two and a half weeks, the jury returned its verdict on November 9, 2016, holding Gwinnett Medical Center and Dr. Hearin liable.

The jury assigned 75 percent of liability to Gwinnett Medical Center and 25 percent to Dr. Hearin. Total damages came to $30,545,655, allocated as $3.5 million to Zetah Louis for her own injuries and $27 million to Re'Ayah Louis for her lifetime of harm. No post-trial reduction has been reported in available sources.