July 7, 2011 – On August 14, 2005, Emily Ordonez of Bayonne, New Jersey went to Bayonne Medical Center after experiencing the first pangs of labor.  She arrived at 1:30 a.m. and all prenatal tests suggested that she would be delivering a healthy baby.  Ten hours later, her son Jose was born but something was wrong. The child suffered what would become permanent brain damage after being injured at birth.

Ordonez and her family sued the former owners of the hospital for the birth injury and have agreed to an $8.5 million birth injury settlement.   Insurance will pay the family $6 million to cover medical expenses and another $2.5 million for emotional and other damages. 

Jose Ordonez is now five years old and has a range of ailments.  He is blind, unable to hold his head up by himself, unable to walk and feeds through a straw.  He also suffers seizures.  His parents care for him 24 hours a day.  He suffered the brain damage after experiencing a sharp drop in his heart rate while still in the womb.  His umbilical cord was compressed, cutting him off from much needed oxygen. 

“Telephone records show the labor and delivery room nurse waited almost half an hour before calling the attending obstetrician and when he arrived from Staten Island 22 minutes later, he waited until 10:55 a.m. to start an emergency Cesarean section, a procedure that took four minutes,” the Jersey City birth injury lawyer who represented the family told NJ.com.

New Jersey may be home to cutting edge medicine, yet every year doctors, nurses and hospitals in the state are responsible for providing substandard healthcare to their patients, including newborns.  If you believe your child’s condition was due to a medical mistake, contact us for a free legal consultation with one of our New Jersey birth injury attorneys to find out how we may be able to help.