Newborn baby dies shortly after birth $16 million verdict

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Action: Medical malpractice

Injuries alleged: Death of infant shortly after birth at 39 weeks gestation

Case name: Dara Robinson as PR of the Estate of E.R. v. Spartanburg & Pelham OBGYN and others

Court/case no.: Spartanburg County Circuit Court, No. 2021CP4203497

Jury and/or judge: Hon. Derham Cole, Jr.

Amount: $16,000,000

Date: March 5, 2025

Attorneys: Ashley White Creech, Zachary Hayden, Amanda Pittman and Anna Magann of McGowan Hood Felder & Phillips in Rock Hill (for the plaintiff) and David L. Williford of Huff Powell Bailey in Greenville and Ashby Davis of Davis & Snyder in Greenville (for the defense)

Dara and Michael Robinson found out they were expecting a baby boy in April 2019. During pregnancy, Dara Robinson had some elevated blood sugar levels and her son was measuring large for gestational age. She went to the hospital on Dec. 17, 2019 complaining of decreased fetal movement. Her fetal monitoring strips were category two, or indeterminate. When her providers ruptured her membranes, there was meconium present, which can be a sign of fetal distress.

Two of Robinson’s physicians exchanged text messages that described the fetal monitoring strips as flat and one of her physicians indicated that she was “agonizing over when” to perform a cesarean section.

Nonetheless, the physicians did not perform a C-section for nearly 30 hours after the plaintiff went to the hospital. After midnight on Dec. 19, 2019, the fetal monitoring strips showed that the baby’s heart rate dropped, and Robinson underwent an emergency C-section. Unfortunately, her son died shortly after birth.

No medical bills were presented at trial. The jury awarded $16 million against the practice and its three individually named providers.