Rhode Island Jury Awards $2.5 Million in Infant Death Lawsuit

By Brittany Golledge

Published on February 17, 2006

After a four week trial, the jury found the hospital negligent for failing to provide written care instructions to Jill Arriaza after she was discharged from the emergency room by a hospital staff midwife. Believing that her water had just broken, Arriaza went to the emergency room at Women & Infants Hospital on Oct. 2, 1998, to deliver her child, but was informed by the hospital midwife that she had urinated on herself and was not ready to deliver. According to testimony, she was sent home without any written instructions on how to deal with any further problems.

Arriaza returned to the hospital later that night after experiencing contractions and labor pains. She delivered the next day, but the infant died just 20 minutes after birth. An autopsy revealed that the infant died from a bacterial infection, Group B streptococcus. During the trial, attorneys for Arriaza argued that the infection could have been avoided had she been given antibiotics. Though the jury seemed to agree with the hospital on many points, they awarded Arriaza $2.5 million, citing negligence on the part of the hospital for not preparing her for problems with delivery.

Because both sides entered into a "high-low" settlement agreement prior to trial, attorneys for Women & Infants Hospital indicated they would not appeal the verdict.

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