Professional Negligence Law Reporter

At 37 weeks gestation, Angelina Lewis went to the labor and delivery unit at Holy Redeemer Hospital and told staff she had been leaking fluid for three days. A Nitrazine test to determine whether there had been a premature rupture of membranes was positive. Additionally, a vaginal examination revealed that Lewis was one centimeter dilated and the baby was at -3 station. After undergoing a ROM Plus test, which was negative, she was discharged home.

Two days later, Lewis returned to the hospital and reported that she was in constant pain. An ultrasound revealed that her baby had died.

Lewis and the baby’s father, individually and on behalf of the estate, sued the hospital and an obstetrician, alleging that the defendants should have conducted additional testing, including an ultrasound, to determine amniotic fluid volume. The plaintiffs argued that the baby’s death resulted from prolonged rupture of membranes, which led to chorioamnionitis.

The defense argued that the negative ROM test led to the reasonable conclusion that Lewis’s membranes had not ruptured and that she was safe for discharge.

The parties settled for $340,000.

Citation: Lewis v. Holy Redeemer Hosp., No. 2018-06158 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Montgomery Cty. May 21, 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Marc G. Brecher and Jarad Silverstein, both of Philadelphia.