Baby Suffered Shoulder Injury During Birth

Mother Said Caesarean Was Indicated

$1 Million Verdict

Missouri Lawyers Weekly
February 12, 2001

A woman sued her obstetrician and a hospital after her baby suffered a brachial plexus injury during birth.

In July 1992, Dr. Tony Lam saw Monica Smith at a St. Louis hospital after her clinic obstetrician sent her in for induction due to gestational diabetes and a larger-than-normal fetus. Dr. Lam decided not to induce her at that time due to the condition of her cervix.

Nine days later, Dr. Lam was the attending physician at the hospital responsible for clinic patients when Smith returned and went into labor. When a nurse contacted Dr. Lam, he gave a routine labor order and did not check Smith. He testified later that he may not have realized he had previously seen her.

During the two-hour labor, Smith passed meconium, and the baby suffered at least one prolonged deceleration. The residents did not call Dr. Lam about these problems until the baby’s head emerged, and one resident discovered what he described as a "mild" shoulder dystocia. Dr. Lam was then called. He claimed he arrived 30 seconds later, but the baby was already delivered.

A pediatrician noticed in the nursery that the baby did not move her left arm. When Lynisha was 5 years old, she was evaluated by a pediatric neurologist, who found that she had Erb’s palsy but that her left arm was 85 percent functional. Two years later, another pediatric neurologist found several changes in the function of her left arm, including a 10 percent elbow contracture.

Smith claimed that the doctor should have performed a Caesarean section because of the baby’s high risk for shoulder dystocia and Erb’s palsy. The plaintiff’s experts criticized the hospital’s resident physicians for failing to notify Dr. Lam in a timely fashion.

Dr. Lam’s expert witnesses claimed that the labor was appropriate, that predicting shoulder dystocia is often difficult and that a brachial plexus injury can occur even when a Caesarean section is performed. The defense also argued that Dr. Lam’s arrival was timely after he was finally notified.

The jury returned a $1 million verdict with $200,000 awarded for past non-economic damages $450,000 for future medical damages; $200,000 for future economic damages and $150,00 for future non-economic damages.

Type of Action: Medical malpractice

Type of Injuries: Brachial plexus injury

Court/Case Number/Date: St. Louis City Court/962-8630/Dec. 19, 2000

Caption: Tanner v. Lam et al.

Name of Judge: Margaret Neill

Verdict or Settlement: $1 million verdict

Special Damages: $481,000 to $676,000 lost wages; $3100,000 to $316,00 future medical expense

Allocation of Fault: 79 percent to hospital; 21 percent to Dr. Lam

Last Offer: None

Last Demand: $250,000

Attorneys for Plaintiff: Brad L. Blake, Fellows & Blake, St. Louis

Insurance Carrier: Medical Assurance

Plaintiff’s Experts: Penelope Caragonne, St. Louis (life care planner); Anthony Gamboa, Louisville, Ken. (vocational economist); Dr. Max Lilling, New York (OB/GYN); Dr. Micahel Noetzel, St. Louis (pediatric neurologist)

Defendant’s Experts: Dr. Susan Farrel, Greensboro, N.C. (pediatric development/life care planner); Robert Marsh, Little Rock, Ark. (economist); Dr. William Rayburn, Albuquerque, New Mexico (perinatologist); Dr. Jacqueline Turner, St. Louis (OB/GYN)

(c) 2001 Lawyers Weekly Inc., All Rights Reserved.