UNANIMOUS DEFENSE VERDICT: Neil Ptashnik obtained a unanimous defense verdict in Westchester County Supreme Court in less than 10 minutes

This case involved a premature infant who was treated by our client neonatologists as the baby was born in distress. The plaintiff alleged that our client neonatologists failed to provide the infant with Surfactant to treat respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) within 48 hours after birth as a result of prematurity of the lungs leading to the child suffering brain damage in the form of severely debilitating cerebral palsy confining the child to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, among other serious injuries. Plaintiff specifically alleged that failure to provide Surfactant caused periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) which then led to cerebral palsy. The VLMM defense demonstrated that Surfactant was not indicated, and that the respiratory status was managed well within the standard of care by the neonatology team, and that while it was unclear why the patient developed cerebral palsy, it was unrelated to the care provided by our clients.

Following a three-week trial, the jury returned with a Unanimous Defense Verdict after only 10 minutes of deliberations.