Hahnemann University Hospital settles lawsuit over birth injury for $32 million

The now-shuttered Hahnemann University Hospital will pay $32 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who alleged that the hospital’s negligence seriously injured her son during birth, the mother’s law firm, Kline and Specter, announced last week.

In 2014, Chastity Fabrizio arrived at Hahnemann in her 39th week of pregnancy and told doctors she had not been able to feel her baby move, according to her lawsuit. She alleged that doctors who treated her did not recognize that the child was displaying signs of low blood oxygen.

Instead of immediately ordering a C-section, Fabrizio’s doctors attempted to induce labor, the lawsuit stated. After more than 10 hours, the C-section was performed, but the baby had to be revived with CPR upon delivery. The baby was later diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a kind of brain injury that occurs when a fetus or newborn does not receive enough oxygen to the brain.

In court filings, Hahnemann denied any negligence on the part of its doctors. The suit was settled in January before going to trial. Though Hahnemann closed in 2019, the hospital had “ample insurance to resolve the case,” said Priscilla Jimenez, one of the lawyers representing Fabrizio. Representatives from Drexel University, which used Hahnemann as its teaching hospital and was also named in the suit, did not respond to a request for comment.

Fabrizio’s child is now a quadriplegic 9-year-old who needs a feeding tube, and has “severe communication impairment,” her legal team said in a statement.

“The Fabrizios have been an inspiration,” said her lawyers, who also included Lisa Dagostino and Jim Waldenberger. They said it is “deeply gratifying” to know that the boy “will have the best care and opportunities available to him for the rest of his life.”

The lawsuit settlement comes as two other major health systems in Philadelphia have faced major verdicts against them in medical malpractice cases. Last April, a jury awarded $183 million to a child born with severe brain injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; the child’s mother had also alleged that doctors there delayed performing an emergency C-section. The verdict was the largest on record in Pennsylvania.

Last February, another jury awarded a former Philadelphia Eagles captain $43.5 million after concluding that doctors, including some at the Rothman Orthopedic Institute, had “exhibited negligence” treating the player’s knee injury, ending his football career.

» READ MORE: Philly saw a surge in medical malpractice filings after Pa. change on court location rules

This story has been updated.