$8.25M Medical Delay causing Brain Damage
After prevailing in appeals and post-trial motions, an Absecon woman has collected $8.25 million in a suit over a delayed blood transfusion that led to brain damage. The recovery stemmed from a 2003 Atlantic County jury award of $22 million to Ana Gomez on her claim that blood was delivered to the operating room in 70 minutes, instead of the usual 20, because of understaffing at the hospital blood bank. At the time, she was giving birth at Atlantic City Medical Center.
Gomez cannot use her limbs, cannot speak and requires full time care. The jury apportioned 65 percent of the total to Atlantic City Medical Center, which had settled during trial for $250,000, the limit of its liability under the Charitable Immunity Act. The remaining 35 percent, or $7.7 million, was apportioned to blood bank director Ali Daneshvar. The third defendant, obstetrician Phyllis Perkins, who was covered by insolvent insurance carrier PHICO, settled at trial for the $300,000 coverage limit of the state Insurance Guaranty Fund, bringing Gomez's total to $8.25 million.
The funds were deposited into court pending defense motions and appeals. The hospital moved unsuccessfully to vacate the judgements, claiming its settlement offer was void because Gomez took too long to accept and that her experts were unqualified and had given net opinions. The Appellate Division affirmed Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee's order on the motion and the state Supreme Court denied Daneshvar's certification petition last Sept 7.
On Sept 30, the trial court released the $10.6 million in escrowed funds and, on Nov 30, it granted the plaintiffs' petition for attorneys' fees, closing out the case.
