$25M claim filed in baby’s death at Naval Hospital Guam

$25M claim filed in baby’s death at Naval Hospital Guam
By Chris Amos - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 24, 2007 19:24:09 EDT

A Navy couple on Guam filed a $25 million claim against the service Monday, alleging malpractice by a Navy doctor and Navy midwife led to the death of their son.

Both the doctor and midwife were previously implicated in separate wrongful death cases at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla., within the past five years, according to the medical malpractice lawyer who filed the claim.

The Federal Tort Claims Act allows military families to sue the U.S. government for negligence in cases of death or injury suffered by non-active-duty family members. When a tort claim is filed, the government has six months to decide whether it is valid, and if so, how much to pay out. If the government takes no action or denies the claim, the claimant may file a lawsuit.

The current case centers on the treatment of Damien Hudson, who was stillborn July 31 at Naval Hospital Guam. It was the third maternity ward death in 45 days at the hospital, where an average of 39 babies are born per month, according to hospital commanding officer Capt. Robert Kellogg.

In the two other cases, a woman died during delivery and a second baby was stillborn. Kellogg said investigative teams from within and outside the hospital have conducted inquiries in each death, but he declined to discuss the teams’ findings, citing federal privacy laws.

Damien’s parents, Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW) Shelly-Ann Hudson and her husband, David Hudson, filed a federal tort claim with the Office of the Judge Advocate General, Tort Claims Unit Norfolk, Va., alleging that Cmdr. Cynthia Wilkes, the doctor, and Capt. Patricia McDonald, the midwife, took three hours to properly diagnose fetal heart irregularities that caused the baby’s death.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/navy_guamhospital_071024w/