A Douglas County, Nebraska jury determined that an obstetrician with Mid-City OB-GYN of Omaha was responsible for a birth injury that left a little girl without the use of her left arm. The jury awarded the now 3-year-old Chaylee Bentzinger-Hill $1.8 million for the ripped and ruptured nerves that occurred during her June 2008 delivery.
According to Joe Cullan, the attorney for Chaylee’s parents, Dr. Ann Sijulin used a vacuum to help the infant through the birth canal. The baby’s shoulder became stuck behind her mother’s pelvic bone, and the doctor pulled down on the baby’s head to get her through, which led to severe nerve damage.
“She panicked and she pulled,” Cullan said. “What you’re never, ever supposed to do is pull downward on the baby’s head. This case shows why. Three nerves were ripped out and two nerves were ruptured in half.”
Sijulin’s attorney, Thomas Shomaker, said he and his client were “saddened by the verdict.”
“We don’t think Dr. Sijulin did anything inappropriate or we wouldn’t have tried the case,” Shomaker said.
Almost all of the money will go directly to Chaylee, with $5,000 each for the two parents.
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