Staten Island Jury Awards $510,000 To Child Injured At Birth
A Staten Island jury awarded a 4-year old boy $510,000 for injuries he suffered in during his delivery at Staten Island University Hospital. The jury found that the obstetrician, Paul Heltzer, and Staten Island University Hospital committed malpractice during the labor and delivery of Xzavier Hyman in 2006. The child suffered a brain injury from being deprived of oxygen.
The child's mother, Marquita Spicer, was admitted to the hospital in early labor. She was given pitocin, a drug that helps to speed along the contractions. The obstetrician then broke Ms. Spicer's water in a further attempt to deliver Xzavier. Labor lasted 19 hours before Ms. Spicer delivered Xzavier naturally. During the time in labor, the continued contractions pressed upon the baby, depriving him of oxygen and causing his heart rate to rise and drop. Another obstetrician testified that Xzavier should have been delivered by cesarean well before the natural delivery. The obstetrician testified that the hospital and Dr. Heltzer "deviated from standard medical practice" in not performing a cesarean delivery earlier. Xzavier suffered a brain injury and has deficiencies in his speech and his fine motor skills.
An article on SILive reporting the jury verdict also speaks to the cost of medical malpractice insurance for obstetricians and gynecologists. The author goes on to write about the legal claims against these doctors and their premiums, in some cases, being more than $200,000 per year. This author then goes on to make the connection that some of the claims are baseless as some birth injuries, such as cerebral palsy and other brain injuries, can be caused by circumstances beyond the doctors control. He then insinuates that the millions of dollars that juries award brain damaged babies, because their long term care costs are so high, are not always attributable to the doctor. The author makes no effort to support his conclusion with any medical evidence or that some jury awards were wrong. In fact, the tone of the article makes it seem that all malpractice claims are frivolous, although a jury just awarded over $500,000 based upon medical evidence presented at trial.
Insurance companies take the easy way out and blame the litigation for the increases in premiums. The author doesn't take into account that premiums reflect the insurance companies investments. When there investments drop, the difference must be made up in an increase in premiums. In 2001-2002, when payouts to malpractice victims declined, the premiums doubled. People are injured by a doctor's medical care and that cost can be significant over their lifetime. Does the article seem to suggest that its not the physicians' problem, but ours, as the cost of the injured victims medical care should be borne by the taxpayers? I hope we have not come that far.
