Firm News

Defense Verdict Index No. 35028/04

Recently, partner Daniel G. Federico won a defense verdict in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on behalf of a Board Certified Ob/Gyn sued in connection with the death of a 32 year old mother 16 hours following the delivery of her first child.

Plaintiff's claimed that the defendant doctor failed to appreciate severe preeclamptic toxemia following delivery and prematurely ordered the discontinuance of magnesium sulfate, a drug given to prevent seizures. Following discontinuance of the drug, the plaintiff's-decedent was noted to have experienced seizure-like activity followed by unresponsiveness. A code was called and resuscitative efforts failed. The decedent was survived by her husband and one day old son.

At trial, the defendant asserted that the decedent died as the result of an acute and unpredictable event, more consistent with a pulmonary embolus and that the death was unrelated to the discontinuance of the magnesium sulfate. Defendant maintained that the decedent never met the criteria for severe preeclampsia and received an appropriate course on the drug, which was discontinued only after her vital signs and blood work normalized.

The jury returned a defense verdict in fewer than two hours. The jurors were persuaded by the concessions of plaintiff's obstetrical expert on cross examination regarding the absence of clinical evidence of severe preeclampsia and the management of the patient's hypertension.

DeCorato Cohen Sheehan & Federico LLP, New York City Medical Malpractice Defense Attorneys