Settlement reached in FTCA birth injury lawsuit – $25,184,489 Settlement

Capt. Andrew Cibula and Jennifer Cibula, parents of JC, sued the United States of America alleging that Navy physicians mismanaged Mrs. Cibula’s first pregnancy, thereby causing JC to suffer a catastrophic brain injury shortly before birth. Mrs. Cibula was taking prescribed medications and had a health condition that put her fetus at increased risk of developing intrauterine growth restriction as the pregnancy progressed. For that reason, Mrs. Cibula’s Navy obstetrician was told specifically by a maternal-fetal specialist to monitor the pregnancy closely with frequent ultrasound scans and other tests, but he performed none. As a result, the physician was unaware that the fetus developed severe growth restriction, and failed to deliver the baby before he suffered severe hypoxia and a brain hemorrhage shortly before delivery by emergency cesarean section. JC has permanent physical and neurological injuries, needs around- the-clock nursing care, and will never live independently or be employed.

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[12-T-145]

Type of action: Federal Tort Claims Act – birth related injury
Injuries alleged: Grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy
Name of case: Cibula v. U.S.
Court: U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Virginia
Case no.: 1:05-cv-1386
Judge: Gerald Bruce Lee
Date resolved: June 19, 2012
Verdict or settlement: Settlement
Amount: $25,184,489 ($1,687,500 past care; $21,136,218 future care; $2,360,771 future earnings)
Attorneys for plaintiffs: Bruce J. Klores, Thomas W. Mitchell and Scott M. Perry, Washington
Attorneys for defendant: Bridget B. Lipscomb, Washington; Dennis C. Barghaan and Joe Sher, Alexandria
Plaintiffs’ experts: Curtis Cetrulo M.D., OB/GYN, Boston; Richard Stokes M.D., OB/GYN, Reston; Marcus Hermansen M.D., neonatology, Nashua, N.H.; Cynthia Kaplan M.D., pathology, Stony Brook, N.Y.; Elizabeth Latimer M.D., neurology, Bethesda, Md.
Defendant’s experts: Susan Lanni M.D., OB/GYN, Richmond; Raymond McCue M.D., OB/GYN, Manassas; John Barks M.D., neurology, Ann Arbor, Mich.