Birth Injury Lawsuit Claims Negligence Resulted in Home Birth and Baby’s Brain Damage

A birth injury lawsuit against Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center and St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital filed by the mother and on behalf of the child, claim defendants, including two doctors and three nurses, committed birth injury malpractice resulting in injuries to the child and ongoing medical expenses for the mother.

Plaintiffs allege the mother should have been admitted to the hospital, but was not, resulting in the birth of the child at home.

Failure to diagnose & prevent premature labor results in home birth

The allegations claim the defendants failed to determine and prevent the plaintiff’s preterm labor, which caused injuries to the child.  The birth injury lawsuit states the plaintiff mother, a Queens county resident, was mistakenly discharged from the hospital, as the defendants failed to monitor her high risk pregnancy or understand her past medical history and failed to admit her to the hospital on January 31, February 1 and 2, 2012. The complaint states these acts resulted in the child being born prematurely in the mother’s home on February 2, 2012.

The defendants are accused of birth injury malpractice by failing to examine and evaluate the mother, failing to administer proper medications and tests, failing to admit her for hospital care and provide her with a safe and sterile environment for the delivery.  Allegations also state the defendants failed to perform the accepted standards of care and skill, failed to use their best judgment and reasonable care and “Caused or permitted the plaintiff to engage in contradicted and dangerous activities in view of her condition…”

The complaint states that due to the defendant’s alleged malpractice, the plaintiff’s son has suffered permanent brain damage, respiratory distress syndrome, other physical injuries and “psychic injuries and mental anguish and agony…”  His mother claims she’s being denied the services of her son and will be forced to pay ongoing medical expenses to care for him.  The plaintiffs don’t list a specific damage amount they seek in the complaint, only that it exceeds the jurisdictional limits of the courts which have jurisdiction over the case.

The case had been filed in the Supreme Court of New York, Queens County on March 22, 2013 and the plaintiff seeks to remove it to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, by filings dated July 26, 2013.   According to a certification signed by an attorney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the defendants fall under the Federal Torts Claim Act.  The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center and St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital received federal grant money during the relevant times.  These two entities, the doctors and nurses are deemed federal employees under the law, resulting in federal jurisdiction over the claims.

Nonprofit Community Health Center and local hospital named as defendants

According to its website, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center has seven locations in Newburgh, Highland Falls and Windsor, New York.  It was founded 46 years ago by VISTA volunteers to provide basic health care to migrant workers and their families in the area. The website states it now provides more than 19,000 adults and children with comprehensive health care, with more than 175,000 patient visits, and a staff of more than 300 employees.

St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital’s website states it has two locations, in Newburgh and Cornwall, New York.  The hospital cares for about 270,000 patients annually and has about 1,500 employees. The individuals named as defendants in the birth injury lawsuit are Daniel Pagani, MD, Diana Wallace, MD, Dorryann Sullivan, RN, Mary Morris, RN, and Lorraine Lemmon, RN.