University of Chicago Medicine was ordered to pay $14 million in a wrongful death suit.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The parents of a 4-year-old boy who died from birth-related neurological injuries have been awarded $14 million in their wrongful death lawsuit against The University of Chicago Medical Center.
At issue was what happened when Omatola Oyedapo gave birth in July 2016. Her attorneys argued negligence in the emergency department delayed Oluwasemilore “Praise” Oyedapo’s delivery, causing severe neurological injuries. The boy, then 4 years old, died in 2020 as a result of those complications.
“Two patients showed up that day, and only one got treated for the first half hour,” said attorney Charles Bletsas, senior counsel on Grant & Eisenhofer’s Birth Injury Team, which represented the parents in the suit filed on behalf of the boy’s estate. “To me, that’s the tragedy.”
The verdict, reached March 8, came after a three-week trial in Cook County Circuit Court. Jurors found the medical center liable for Praise’s death after less than three hours of deliberation.
Bletsas said this case was unusual in terms of birth injury cases, which normally stem from complications in the delivery room.
“The emergency department was a gatekeeper of care,” Bletsas said. “They had an obligation to call an obstetrician. The woman is 33 weeks pregnant with abdominal pain and hypotension. The only person who can help this baby is an obstetrician.”
Despite those symptoms, however, UCMC didn’t attempt to contact a labor and delivery specialist until about 50 minutes after they’d been alerted to Omatola’s condition, Bletsas said.
It was only later, during an emergency Ceasarian section, that doctors discovered what was wrong: the placenta had partially detached from the uterine wall. This can prevent oxygen from reaching the fetus, which can cause brain damage, as it did in this case. Praise was born blind, unable to communicate, with quadraplegic cerebral palsy, and required around-the-clock care his entire life.
Bletsas criticized UCMC’s policies, which at the time called for a thorough evaluation of the mother before beginning obstetric care, he said. He hoped this case would lead to an improved standard of care for future mothers and babies in similar situations.
“The Oyedapo family has endured so much anguish and suffering over this horrific tragedy that could have been avoided if not for negligence,” Lisa Weinstein, another member of the parents’ legal team. was quoted as saying in a news release.
The parents declined to be interviewed. The medical center did not respond to requests for comment.