New York County (NY) Supreme Court
Nine hours after presenting to an emergency department with labor contractions, a woman at 30 weeks’ gestation delivered a son. The child was born paralyzed after suffering an intraventricular hemorrhage.
The woman sued, claiming that she should have received tocolytics to prevent preterm birth, as well as corticosteroids to reduce the risk of birth defects.
The defendant claimed the woman had begun leaking amniotic fluid before she arrived at the hospital. Had she been given tocolytics, it was argued, the risk of infection to both mother and child would have risen dramatically.
Further, it was noted that when the incident took place, in 1990, administration of corticosteroids was not yet the standard of care in cases such as this.
- The jury returned a defense verdict.