$7.05 Million Verdict Against Neonatologist and Nurse Practitioner in Premature Twin's Death at Beth Israel Deaconess

Danielle and John Bellerose of South Hamilton, Massachusetts, had twin daughters born two months early on June 13, 2004, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Premature infants are at elevated risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, a bowel condition in which intestinal tissue dies. One of the twins developed it in her first week in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The family's account, presented by their attorneys William Thompson and Elizabeth Cranford of the Boston firm Lubin & Meyer, centered on June 20, 2004, a weekend. When her parents arrived to visit, the baby was discolored and unresponsive, and the monitors beside her showed problems with her heart rate and oxygen levels. According to Thompson, staff took more than an hour to come to the family's aid and more than four hours to call in surgeons, after her bowel had perforated. She died on June 21, at 8 days old. Her twin sister survived.

The Belleroses sued the hospital's neonatal team, and the case was tried in Suffolk Superior Court in the summer of 2011. They argued that the unit's weekend staff failed to recognize that the infant was deteriorating and that the delay in treatment cost her the chance to be saved. The defense, led by attorney John Cassidy, argued that the condition arose and progressed quickly and that the medical standard of care was met. A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on the verdict.

The jury disagreed with the defense. It found the neonatologist, Dr. Janet Lloyd, and nurse practitioner Michele Ambrosino negligent. On August 31, 2011, it awarded $3.5 million to each parent for the loss of their daughter and $50,000 for the pain and suffering she experienced while conscious before she died, a verdict of $7.05 million.

Massachusetts adds prejudgment interest to a malpractice verdict, and with interest the award grew to about $11.48 million. The Boston Globe Magazine later put the total at nearly $11.5 million and called it the largest malpractice award in the state that year. Danielle Bellerose told reporters that the case was not about the money: 'It's about accountability, responsibility and change.' She said she hoped it would lead physicians to give closer attention to complications in premature babies.

At the time of the verdict Ambrosino was working at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, while Lloyd had left her post as director of the neonatal unit at South Shore Hospital but remained on its staff.