F&F# A07073
Settlement: $2,000,000
Injuries: Mental Retardation, Seizure Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Hyperactivity
Facts and Claim of Liability:
Infant plaintiff was born on July 6, 1998. He weighed 8 lbs at birth. After birth, plaintiff mother and infant plaintiff spent three days in the hospital, and were then discharged.
When infant plaintiff was a little over a year old, plaintiff mother took infant plaintiff to a nearby park to play. Plaintiff mother noticed that infant plaintiff was “cranky,” and was crying a lot. She took him home to calm him down. When she noticed that he was beginning to shiver, she took him to Defendant Hospital New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Infant plaintiff was examined, and blood work was done. Eventually, plaintiff mother and infant plaintiff were sent home, with directions that plaintiff mother give infant plaintiff Tylenol for his fever.
Infant plaintiff’s condition did not improve by the next day, so plaintiff mother took him to a pediatric clinic on West 181st street. Infant plaintiff was again examined, and again sent home with a prescription for Tylenol. When plaintiff mother and infant plaintiff returned home, plaintiff mother received a call from defendant hospital. Hospital staff informed plaintiff mother that infant plaintiff’s blood work had come back, and that they had found something and needed infant plaintiff to return to the hospital so that they could run more tests. Plaintiff mother took infant plaintiff back to defendant hospital, and hospital staff performed a spinal tap. Infant plaintiff was ultimately diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, and remained in the hospital for a month.
When infant plaintiff was almost a year and a half old, plaintiff mother noticed that he was becoming increasingly more aggressive and hyperactive.
When infant plaintiff was two years old, he experienced his first seizure, and was diagnosed with a seizure disorder.
Ultimately, infant plaintiff was diagnosed with mental retardation, aggressive behavior, and learning disabilities.
Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald filed suit in New York County Supreme Court, arguing that defendant hospital departed from good and accepted medical practice in the care of infant plaintiff in failing to diagnose and treat bacterial meningitis, which resulted in severe and permanent injuries to infant plaintiff. Ultimately, Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald settled with defendant for a total of $2,000,000.00.