Confidential Settlement for Insurance Limits for Failure to Make Prenatal Diagnosis of Hypoplastic Left Heart
Daryl L. Zaslow represented a teenage boy who went into congestive heart failure and ductal shock when he was just 9 days old. It was later learned that the heart failure was a result of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome which went undiagnosed in utero during his mother’s prenatal care. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome occurs when parts of the left side of the heart (mitral valve, left ventricle aortic valve, and aorta) do not develop completely. Mr. Zaslow argued that the radiologist and technician who were involved in the interpretation and performance of the mother’s prenatal ultrasound at 18 weeks gestation failed to appreciate and report an abnormal four chamber view of the fetal heart.
Mr. Zaslow retained experts who opined that the failure of the radiologist to report an abnormal fetal heart contributed to the long term cardiac and renal problems the boy suffers today. According to the Plaintiff’s experts, had the prenatal diagnosis of a Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome been made, the baby would have been given timely interventions including the administration of Prostaglandin to maintain circulation and this would have resulted into a better prognosis.
Although the specific monetary terms of the settlement are subject to a confidentiality agreement, Mr. Zaslow was able to get separate insurance coverage for the radiologist, the ultrasonographer and the radiology group and that the amount of the settlement was for their maximum insurance coverage in the case.