Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Erin Gresser, who suffered from Type 1 diabetes, was admitted to North Colorado Medical Center after receiving a diagnosis of preeclampsia. She was treated for group B strep infection during the labor, during which prolonged late decelerations occurred. Gresser’s daughter, Carina, had Apgar scores of 8 and 9 at one and five minutes, with abnormal pH levels. She also had hyperbilirubinemia and became tachycardic later in the evening, prompting her admission to the facility’s ICU for further evaluation and treatment.

There, Carina suffered episodes of bradycardia and continued tachycardia. The laboratory allegedly reported a positive blood culture with gram-negative rods. Additionally, the gram stain from cerebrospinal fluid was positive for gram-negative rods. She was discharged from the facility with a diagnosis of sepsis and respiratory distress and transferred to another hospital’s NICU, where she was intubated. The next day, Carina was taken to the NICU at a children’s hospital, where she was diagnosed as having sepsis, meningitis, seizures, metabolic acidosis, and other problems. Now 5, she has cerebral palsy and developmental delays.

Gresser and her husband, individually and on Carina’s behalf, sued Banner Health, alleging its nurses had failed to properly monitor Carina after the delivery in light of her mother’s known health conditions. The plaintiffs asserted that the nurses had failed to alert Carina’s treating physicians of changes in her condition and failed to adequately respond to the child’s deteriorating condition.

The jury awarded $27.6 million.

Citation: Gresser v. Banner Health, No. 2019-CV-30976 (Colo. Dist. Ct. Weld Cty. Apr. 27, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Zachary Wool, New Orleans; and AAJ member Melanie Sulkin, Denver.