Successfully Proving Medical Malpractice in Traumatic Birth Injury
November 2020
AylwardLaw represented an infant who suffered a severe birth injury birth in a difficult medical malpractice claim.
The child was delivered in Labrador City. The final stage of the delivery took far too long. The exchange of blood gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) between the mother and infant was completely cut off for far too long. The infant was asphyxiated.
Geoff sued the doctor who delivered the child. The doctor acknowledged that the child had suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). He claimed the birth was stalled by cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD): meaning that the baby's head, relative to the mother's pelvis, was too large. This explanation was accepted by the physicians at the Janeway. Geoff engaged three expert physicians to provide screening opinions on whether to proceed with the case. Their advice was that the claim was unlikely to succeed.
The infant's only chance was the discovery examination of the defendant. Geoff's intense cross-examination succeeded. One of Canada's leading obstetricians agreed to review the claim. The obstetrician relied heavily on the discovery examination. His report proved the child's brain injury was caused by errors by the defendant-doctor. Geoff brought in a Nova Scotia law firm and an Ontario law firm to assist in assuring the best result for the infant's future. The three out-of-province lawyers were engaged by AylwardLaw at no additional cost to the family.
The claim settled for over $6,500,000. The settlement was the second-highest in Atlantic Canada for a birth injury claim. AylwardLaw's fee was the lowest fee in Atlantic Canada for a birth trauma case. AylwardLaw successfully applied to the Court to have the parents appointed as guardians of the settlement.
Practice area(s): Medical Malpractice, Guardianship
Court: Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court