$950,000 Settlement for Wrongful Birth Injury

Michael Zerres recently settled the case of a developmental disabled child who was born prematurely at 25 weeks. The matter involved a delayed diagnosis of the mother’s rare liver condition. The mother suffered from a combination of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and a low platelet count, known as HELLP syndrome, when she went to her Passaic County obstetrician on May 11, 1996. At the time, she was six months pregnant. Five days later, the mother’s HELLP syndrome was finally diagnosed and she was forced to undergo an emergency Caesarian section. By then, it was too late to avoid serious complications, which could have been avoided by a timely diagnosis.

In addition, had the syndrome been diagnosed on time, the parents could have been given the option of terminating the pregnancy because there was a 90 percent chance the boy would be born with severe disabilities. Part of the settlement will be used to purchase an annuity for the now 5 year-old, which is expected to pay out at least $9.8 million dollars over his life time.