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BRONX, NEW YORK (October 21, 2022) – A jury awarded an $80 million medical malpractice verdict on behalf of a young man who suffered profound and permanent neurocognitive injuries as a result of the negligence of Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, New York, owned and operated by the NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation. The injured individual and his family were represented by the attorneys at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC.
In 2003, this client sustained profound, disabling injuries when he was born extremely premature at 23 weeks gestation. The client’s mother had a known and documented history of an incompetent cervix, previously treated with a cerclage. However, her physicians at Jacobi’s High-Risk Obstetrical Clinic decided she did not need a prophylactic or history-indicated cerclage between 13-16 weeks gestation during this pregnancy.
The physicians also failed to perform serial transvaginal ultrasounds to assess her cervical length and failed to perform a timely rescue cerclage when a short cervix was finally detected at 21 weeks gestation. Due to these departures from accepted standards of care, the baby was delivered extremely premature at 23 weeks and suffered many complications. As a result of this negligence, our client spent the first 16 months of his life admitted to various medical centers, where he received a tracheostomy and feeding tube.
The physicians at the Jacobi Medical Center provided substandard care, which led to tragic results. The client sustained several life-altering injuries, including respiratory distress syndrome, chronic lung disease, cerebral palsy, profound intellectual disability, and global developmental delays.
The NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation commenced a third-party action against St. Barnabas Hospital and its physicians, claiming that their negligence in failing to deliver the baby some 18 hours earlier due to the presence of chorioamnionitis resulted in these injuries.
Duffy & Duffy is thankful to the jury for holding the NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation accountable and hopes this verdict sends a message that they need to provide better healthcare to Bronx families. The jury exonerated St. Barnabas Hospital and its physicians, finding that Jacobi Medical Center was solely responsible for the client’s injuries.
“Our client and his family suffered traumatic and life-altering consequences due to the actions of the staff at Jacobi Medical Center. If the doctors had provided our client’s mother with the proper medical care required under the circumstances, this tragedy could have been prevented.” – Jim Licalzi (Lead Trial Counsel at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC.)
The dedicated medical malpractice attorneys at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. have been helping families receive the financial compensation they are entitled to following a birth injury. This client experienced traumatic and disabling injuries as a result of medical negligence. While no settlement amount can reverse the effects of this incident, the verdict reached by the attorneys at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. will help to ease the financial burden as much as possible and hold the Jacobi Medical Center responsible.
“When any of our attorneys walk into the courtroom, we have the utmost confidence that we are going to obtain a successful outcome for our clients. This $80 million verdict is one of the largest in history. It will ensure that our client will be able to receive the proper care he needs for the rest of his life, which is a great relief for his family.” – Michael E. Duffy (Managing Partner and General Counsel at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC.)
The medical malpractice attorneys at Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. are widely recognized as the premier advocates for victims of medical negligence. For over 20 years, Duffy & Duffy, PLLC. has been noted and distinguished for its legal expertise in medical malpractice and broad understanding of complex medical issues. To learn more about Duffy & Duffy, PLLC., call 516-394-4200 or visit https://www.duffyduffylaw.com/.
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Each case we encounter is carefully screened and evidence scrutinized to make sure the claim is meritorious and may be successful at trial. We will perform an investigation, and then our partners make a final decision on whether to take on a case.
