Verdicts

A Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled that a trial court did not err in finding that there was no authority for the proposition that ' 1303.512 of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act governed expert qualifications for testimony regarding claims of nursing negligence. Ciechoski v. Ca'Dieux, PICS Case No. 15-1084 (Pa. Super. July 8, 2015) (memorandum) Ott, J. (12 pages).

On Nov. 14, 2009, a pregnant Leslie Proffitt was admitted to Phoenixville Hospital and taken to the labor and delivery unit, where she was hooked up to a fetal heart monitor. In the early morning hours of Nov. 15, 2009, the monitor indicated that the baby's heart rate had dropped to a below-normal level. Nurse Christine Winter was the first staff member to arrive at Proffitt's side after the drop in the baby's heart rate. She attempted to adjust Proffitt's position in order to get the baby's heart rate to return to normal. Nurse Lana Jones-Sandy arrived at Proffitt's side a bit later. Ultimately, the baby, plaintiff Lillian M Ciechoski, was delivered by emergency caesarean section. The baby suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation prior to her delivery. At about one year old, Ciechoski was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Ciechoski, through her mother, filed this medical malpractice action against Phoenixville Hospital and related parties.