Gold v. United Health Services Hospital, Inc., et al.

Medical malpractice - Gold began experiencing visual disturbances and headaches when she was seven months pregnant for which she was hospitalized. On the second day of the hospitalization, she suffered a grand mal seizure. She was found in an unresponsive state and, after a time, her obstetrician and her neurologist were contacted. Dilantin was ordered but not given. Plaintiff then suffered two more seizures. An emergency C-section was performed and her baby was born with depressed Apgar scores. He later developed an E. coli infection in the hospital nursery and went into septic shock. The child then developed spastic quadriplegia. He cannot sit, stand or speak and is institutionalized. Plaintiff alleged that the baby suffered fetal hypoxia during the seizures when set the stage for the infectious process. The life expectancy of the child was contested by the parties.

Verdict for plaintiffs for $103.13 million.

Leon Charash, Hicksville, New York, pediatric neurologist; David Peisner, Kalamazoo, Michigan, obstetrician and gynecologist; Joseph Carfi, Great Neck, New York, life care planner; and Richard Ruth, Summit, New Jersey, economist.

Ricahrd N. Waldman, Syracuse, New York, obstetrician and gynecologist; Robert Silverman, Syracuse, New York, obstetrician and gynecologist;
Peter B. Kane, Syracuse, New York, anesthesiologist; and Paul Chervin, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pediatric neurologist

None