ORTIZ v. LIFEPOINT HEALTH, INC.

State of New Mexico, County of Santa Fe, First Judicial District Court

CASE NO.: D-101-CV-2020-01561

The case involved a vacuum extraction, shoulder dystocia, and fetal demise of LGA infant with multiple skull fractures on autopsy and an informed consent claim for removal of mother’s left ovary during eventual c-section. Plaintiff did not timely exhaust administrative remedies against OB and midwife so they were not a part of the trial. TMS represented the hospital’s parent company, Lifepoint Health, Inc.

In closing, Plaintiffs asked for $65 million in compensatory damages and suggested another $80 million in punitives and asked the jury to apportion almost all fault to the corporate defendants.

TMS obtained a full defense verdict on all claims against Lifepoint Health, Inc. The case was cast as profits over patients and Plaintiffs spent most of their proof on alleging Lifepoint’s billions of dollars in assets did not provide an OB physically present in the hospital when this infant needed one. Plaintiffs also claimed Lifepoint engaged in a joint venture with its own subsidiaries.

This was the first time Lifepoint Health, Inc. had gone trial for its parent company behavior and relationships with its subsidiaries. TMS was up to the challenge.

The TMS trial team was B. Todd Thompson, Ellie Davis, and Joey Wright.