Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Caroline Turner defended the judgment entered in favor of Jasmine Pagan, Jose Finley and their minor son, identified as K.F., against Albert Einstein Medical Center, Einstein Pediatrics at Holland and pediatrician Dr. Kavita Gupta-Shah…medicalliabilitymonitor, Philadelphia Judge Defends $124.2M Birth-Injury Judgment
The lawsuit arose from K.F.’s December 2018 birth at Albert Einstein Medical Center. According to Turner’s opinion, plaintiffs’ obstetrical expert Dr. Howard Mandel testified that K.F. suffered head trauma during the birth process and that a decision to proceed with a cesarean section at approximately 8 a.m. more likely than not would have avoided the trauma.
Months later, imaging revealed bilateral subdural hemorrhages with mass effect, and K.F. underwent emergency neurosurgical treatment.
Following a March trial, the jury returned a $108.6 million verdict, including $106.1 million in future medical expenses. Turner subsequently added approximately $15.6 million in delay damages, producing a molded verdict of $124,187,697.35.
Among the defendants’ principal appellate arguments is that the evidence was insufficient to impose vicarious liability on Albert Einstein Medical Center because the jury found two individually named obstetricians, Drs. Cheryl Yondorf and Aishat Olatunde, not negligent.
The plaintiffs’ case extended beyond Yondorf and Olatunde to resident physicians and labor-and-delivery nurses. The alleged conduct included labor management, administration and readministration of Pitocin, fetal monitoring and the failure to move to cesarean delivery at approximately 8 to 8:30 a.m.