Jury awards $12 million in malpractice case

COLUMBUS - A Superior Court jury awarded damages of $12 million Thursday in a medical malpractice suit against a doctor and a nurse-midwife involved in a difficult birth that resulted in a brain-damaged baby. <br> <br> The jury awarded $10 million to Dalton Tate, born with cerebral palsy in October 1999, and $2 million to parents Kimberly and Patrick Tate of LaGrange. <br> <br> Before her baby was ultimately delivered by Caesarean section, fetal monitors showed evidence of umbilical cord compression and a low heart rate. <br> <br> Registered nurse Melissa T. Flynn of Columbus, who was a midwife with Women&#39;s Healthcare Associates of LaGrange, and Dr. Leroy K. Hubbert of LaGrange waited 90 minutes before surgically delivering the child, whose brain was damaged from lack of sufficient oxygen through the umbilical connection, said Tommy Malone, the Tates&#39; attorney. <br> <br> ``This is a case of an over-optimistic nurse-midwife,&#39;&#39; Malone said, ``and a woefully inattentive doctor.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Attorney Edward Long Jr., representing Hubbert, said there was insufficient evidence to conclude the damage was due to the problems recorded on the fetal monitors. <br> <br> When Hubbert examined the fetal monitor recordings, he advised Kimberly Tate that she needed a C-section delivery, Long told the jury. The expectant mother, however, was ``out of control&#39;&#39; and screamed to her husband, ``don&#39;t let them cut me,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Attorney David Tisinger told the jury Flynn did everything she could, including urging Tate to accept a C-section delivery when there were indications the delivery could not be made normally.