(3) DARIAN LAVAR BROWN, a minor by and through his mother, DENISE GORDON BROWN, and his father, DAVID ANTHONY BROWN; and DENISE GORDON BROWN as mother of DARIAN LAVAR BROWN and DAVID ANTHONY BROWN as father of DARIAN LAVAR BROWN vs. NORTH BROWARD HOSPITAL DISTRICT, d/b/a BROWARD GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER; FT. LAUDERDALE PERINATAL ASSOCIATES, P.A., d/b/a SUNLIFE MATERNAL CHILD NETWORK, P.A., f/k/a SUNLIFE OB/GYN, P.A., f/k/a SUNLIFE OB/GYN SERVICES OF BROWARD COUNTY, INC.; PERINATAL RESEARCH & CONSULTING, P.A.; L. LAURIE SCOTT, M.D.; and THE FAMILY HEALTH PLACE
COUNTY/DOCKET #/JUDGE: Broward / 03-0282 18 / Jeffrey E. Streitfeld
PLAINTIFF(S) ATTORNEY(S): Nancy L. La Vista and David C. Prather of Lytal, Reiter, et al., W. Palm Beach
DEFENDANT(S) ATTORNEY(S): Reid A. Cocalis and Ronald A. Fitzgerald of Conrad & Scherer, Ft. Lauderdale; Shelley H. Leinicke of Wicker, Smith, et al., Ft. Lauderdale
AGE/SEX/OCCUPATION OF PLAINTIFF: Newborn / M / n/a
CAUSE OF INJURY: Hospital Negligence/Failure to Properly Perform Fetal Monitoring. In 2000, Plaintiff Denise Brown was pregnant with her son, Darian. On January 10, 2000, Denise went in for a regular check-up. Her doctor noticed the fetal monitoring showed fetal tachycardia (heart rate greater than 160) and admitted Denise to Broward General Hospital for observation. Doctors noted that she was at risk for pre-term labor. For the next three days, she continued to have pre-term labor issues, but her contractions were controlled and the baby’s heart rate stabilized. On the evening of January 14, there was a significant change in the fetal monitoring pattern. Despite policies and procedures to notify the doctor, the Broward General staff did not. On January 15 at 2:40 a.m., fetal monitoring continued to worsen. At 5:15 a.m. nurses finally called a doctor. The decision was made to deliver the baby at 5:50 a.m. However, the baby was not delivered until more than an hour and a half later. As a result of the delayed delivery, Darian suffered severe brain damage. Defendants argued that Darian was born with APGAR scores of five and eight with no multi-organ injury, and a blood gas ph not less than seven such that the injury was not an acute event, but must have been due to either genetics, a prior infection, or a short umbilical cord. Plaintiffs’ experts opined that Darian demonstrated a classic presentation for a premature baby with this condition.
NATURE OF INJURY: Cerebral palsy with spastic quadriparesis secondary to hypoxic ischemic brain injury. Minor Plaintiff Darian requires full time care and cannot perform any tasks of daily living, but can communicate with yes and no and pointing, as well as a computer communication board. Now eight years old, Darian attends school. He has no speech and it is unknown to what extent he will speak. It is not expected that he will walk or ever be independent. Dr. Brown, Dr. Joseph, and Dr. Cohen were Darian’s treating physicians.
EXPERT WITNESSES:
PLAINTIFF'S:
Alan D. Bedrick, M.D., Neonatology, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Raymond W. Redline, M.D., Placental Pathology, Case Western Univ.,
Cleveland, OH
Christopher M. Cunniff, M.D., Medical Genetics, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Thomas P. Naidich, M.D., Pediatric Neuroradiology, New York, NY
Berto Lopez, M.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology, W. Palm Beach
Frederick A. Gonzalez, M.D., Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Univ. of Utah,
St. George, UT
Stuart B. Brown, M.D., Child Neurology, Hollywood
Rufus Joseph, M.D., Pediatrics, Ft. Lauderdale
Lucy S. Cohen, M.D., Physical Medicine, Coral Springs
Paul M. Deutsch, Ph.D., Life Care Planning, Orlando
Frederick A. Raffa, Ph.D., Economist, Orlando
DEFENDANT'S:
Paul J. Benke, M.D., Medical Genetics, Hollywood
Virginia Kline-Kaye, R.N., Labor & Delivery Nursing, Hollywood
William E. Roberts, M.D., Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Univ. of Tennessee,
Chattanooga, TN
William D. Rhine, M.D., Neonatology, Univ. of California, Menlo Park, CA
Robert W. Bendon, M.D., Pathology, Univ. of Kentucky, Louisville, KY
Peter Fisher, M.D., Pediatric Neurology, Stanford, CA
Richard Towbin, M.D., Neuroradiology, Phoenix, AZ
Manfred H. Ledford, Economist, Lexington, KY
VERDICT: $35,206,000 for Plaintiffs on June 13, 2008 ($27,206,000 for Darian: $206,000 - past medical expenses; $15,000,000 - future medical expenses; $4,000,000 - past pain and suffering; $8,000,000 - future pain and suffering; $4,000,000 for Denise: $2,500,000 - past pain and suffering; $1,500,000 - future pain and suffering; $4,000,000 for David: $2,500,000 - past pain and suffering; $1,500,000 - future pain and suffering).
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY'S COMMENTS: Nancy La Vista: Plaintiffs settled with the perinatologist prior to trial for a confidential amount.
