Utah $951M Hospital Negligence Verdict
Table of Contents
Case Background
In October 2019, Plaintiff Anyssa D. Zancanella traveled to Salt Lake City. She was 39 weeks pregnant. Her water broke late on October 12. She went to Jordan Valley Medical Center – West Valley Campus. Defendant Steward entities operated and staffed the facility. Nurses admitted her to Labor and Delivery. An on-call obstetrician oversaw care. The hospital advertised capability for complicated labors and NICU support.
Cause
Staff began Pitocin at 3:32 a.m. on October 13. Nurses escalated the dose through the day. Fetal monitoring showed rising heart rate and repeated decelerations. Labor stalled despite prolonged induction. Nurses reported meconium and blood clots. Attempts to place a fetal scalp electrode failed. The on-call obstetrician visited twice, then slept on site. She delegated monitoring to a novice nurse. The charge nurse was not certified and offered little supervision. Worsening fetal distress continued overnight. A late deceleration to 90 bpm lasted 270 seconds. The obstetrician ordered an emergent Cesarean at 5:03 a.m. on October 14. Delivery occurred at 5:59 a.m., after a 64-minute interval.
Injury
Infant AZM presented with severe acidosis and depression. Apgars were 5, 6, and 8. Cord pH measured 6.9. Staff documented facial swelling, bruising, and scalp deformity. Providers airlifted AZM to Primary Children’s for therapeutic cooling. Imaging showed diffuse cerebral edema. Physicians diagnosed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and neonatal seizure
Continue Reading This Article
Subscribe to access this article and our entire library of legal content.