$2 million settlement; Plaintiff says delayed delivery leads to brain injury

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Action: Medical malpractice

Injuries alleged: Catastrophic neurologic injury

Case name: Withheld

Court/case no.: Withheld

Jury and/or judge: N/A (mediated)

Mediator: Darren Sanders of Mount Pleasant

Amount: $2 million

Date: Oct. 1, 2025

Attorneys: Francis “Brink” Hinson of HHP Law Group and Harry L. Goldberg of the Finkel Law Firm, both in Columbia (for the plaintiff)

This was a birth injury case involving an allegation of a failure to timely deliver a baby resulting in catastrophic neurologic injury. With the exception of being at “advanced maternal age,” the mom had an uncomplicated pregnancy. She presented for delivery at full gestation and, initially, the fetal heart monitoring strips evidenced a well-oxygenated baby who was tolerating labor well. However, following a significant heart rate deceleration several hours into the labor, the baby’s heart rate lost nearly all variability, which continued for several more hours, at which point a vacuum delivery was attempted and then a C-section performed. The baby was born with APGARS of 0-0-2 and had umbilical cord gas that was very acidotic. Plaintiffs’ experts opinioned that an expedited delivery should have taken place hours earlier and would have prevented the baby from suffering injury.