Traumatic Brain Injury: Case Against Midwife Nets $2.27 M

A $2.27 million verdict has been handed down in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Pamela Kozick, a nurse midwife from the Women's Health Associates of Carlisle. The lawsuit was filed in 2002 in Cumberland County, saying that Christian Boullianne was born with severe brain damage and spastic cerebral palsy. Daniel Weinstock, who represented Christian's parents, Gerard and Linda Boullianne, said that “Cumberland County is notoriously a difficult county to bring a medical malpractice case in. I think this case sort of demonstrates that if the case is clear enough, a medical malpractice case can be won in any venue.”

Medical case wins $2.27M

The plaintiffs say that Christian's condition was a result of Kozick's failure to recognize obvious signs of fetal discomfort in labor. Weinstock said that Kozick was negligent because fetal monitor readings were "non-reassuring" for the final hour and 24 minutes of the labor. “The defendant is a nurse midwife,” Weinstock said of Kozick. “There’s a very clear hospital policy that says if the (fetal monitor) strips are non-reassuring, she needs to call a doctor. She failed to do that.” Kozick maintained that the readings were within normal limits throughout the labor.