1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act for the relief of Aaron Edwards, a minor, and his |
3 | parents, Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards, by Lee Memorial |
4 | Health System of Lee County; providing for an |
5 | appropriation to compensate Aaron Edwards and his parents |
6 | for damages sustained as a result of the medical |
7 | negligence by employees of Lee Memorial Health System of |
8 | Lee County; providing a limitation on the payment of fees |
9 | and costs; providing an effective date. |
10 |
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11 | WHEREAS, Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards' only child, Aaron |
12 | Edwards, was born on September 5, 2007, at Lee Memorial |
13 | Hospital, and |
14 | WHEREAS, during Mitzi Roden's pregnancy, Mitzi Roden and |
15 | Mark Edwards attended childbirth classes through Lee Memorial |
16 | Health System and learned of the potentially devastating effect |
17 | that the administration of Pitocin to augment labor may have on |
18 | a mother and her unborn child when not carefully and competently |
19 | monitored, and |
20 | WHEREAS, Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards communicated directly |
21 | to Nurse Midwife Patricia Hunsucker of Lee Memorial Health |
22 | System of their desire to have a natural childbirth, and |
23 | WHEREAS, Mitzi Roden enjoyed an uneventful full-term |
24 | pregnancy with Aaron Edwards, free from any complications, and |
25 | WHEREAS, on September 5, 2007, at 5:29 a.m., Mitzi Roden, |
26 | at 41 and 5/7 weeks' gestation awoke to find that her membranes |
27 | had ruptured, and |
28 | WHEREAS, when Mitzi Roden presented to the hospital on the |
29 | morning of September 5, she was placed on a fetal monitoring |
30 | machine that confirmed that Aaron Edwards was doing well and in |
31 | very good condition, and |
32 | WHEREAS, Mitzi Roden tolerated well a period of labor from |
33 | 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., but failed to progress in her labor to |
34 | the point of being in active labor. At that time, Nurse Midwife |
35 | Patricia Hunsucker informed Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards that |
36 | she would administer Pitocin to Mitzi in an attempt to speed up |
37 | the labor, but both Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards strenuously |
38 | objected to the administration of Pitocin because of their |
39 | knowledge about the potentially devastating effects it can have |
40 | on a mother and child, including fetal distress and even death. |
41 | Mitzi Roden and Mark Edwards informed Nurse Midwife Patricia |
42 | Hunsucker that they would rather undergo a cesarean section than |
43 | be administered Pitocin, but in spite of their objections, Nurse |
44 | Midwife Patricia Hunsucker ordered that a Pitocin drip be |
45 | administered to Mitzi Roden at an initial does of 3 milliunits, |
46 | to be increased by 3 milliunits every 30 minutes, and |
47 | WHEREAS, there was universal agreement by the experts |
48 | called to testify at the trial in this matter that the |
49 | administration of Pitocin over the express objections of Mitzi |
50 | Roden and Mark Edwards was a violation of the standard of care, |
51 | and |
52 | WHEREAS, for several hours during the afternoon of |
53 | September 5, 2007, the dosage of Pitocin was consistently |
54 | increased and Mitzi Roden began to experience contractions |
55 | closer than every 2 minutes at 4:50 p.m., and began to |
56 | experience excessive uterine contractility shortly before 6 |
57 | p.m., which should have been recognized by any reasonably |
58 | competent obstetric care provider, and |
59 | WHEREAS, in spite of Mitzi Roden's excessive uterine |
60 | contractility, the administration of Pitocin was inappropriately |
61 | increased to 13 milliunits at 6:20 p.m. by Labor and Delivery |
62 | Nurse Beth Jencks, which was a deviation from the acceptable |
63 | standard of care for obstetric health care providers because, in |
64 | fact, it should have been discontinued, and |
65 | WHEREAS, reasonable obstetric care required that Dr. |
66 | Duvall, the obstetrician who was ultimately responsible for |
67 | Mitzi Roden's labor and delivery, be notified of Mitzi Roden's |
68 | excessive uterine contractility and that she was not adequately |
69 | progressing in her labor, but the health care providers |
70 | overseeing Mitzi Roden's labor unreasonably failed to do so, and |
71 | WHEREAS, in spite of Mitzi Roden's excessive uterine |
72 | contractility, the administration of Pitocin was increased to 14 |
73 | milliunits at 7:15 p.m., when reasonable obstetric practices |
74 | required that it be discontinued, and a knowledgeable obstetric |
75 | care provider should have known that the continued use of |
76 | Pitocin in the face of excessive uterine contractility posed an |
77 | unreasonable risk to both Mitzi Roden and Aaron Edwards, and |
78 | WHEREAS, Lee Memorial's own obstetrical expert, Jeffrey |
79 | Phelan, M.D., testified that Mitzi Roden experienced a tetanic |
80 | contraction lasting longer than 90 seconds at 8:30 p.m., and Lee |
81 | Memorial's own nurse midwife expert, Lynne Dollar, testified |
82 | that she herself would have discontinued Pitocin at 8:30 p.m., |
83 | and |
84 | WHEREAS, at 8:30 p.m., the administration of Pitocin was |
85 | unreasonably and inappropriately increased to 15 milliunits when |
86 | reasonable obstetric practices required that it be discontinued, |
87 | and |
88 | WHEREAS, at 9 p.m., Nurse Midwife Hunsucker visited Mitzi |
89 | Roden at bedside, but mistakenly believed that the level of |
90 | Pitocin remained at 9 milliunits, when, in fact, it had been |
91 | increased to 15 milliunits, and further, she failed to |
92 | appreciate and correct Mitzi Roden's excessive uterine |
93 | contractility, and |
94 | WHEREAS, Lynne Dollar acknowledged that it is below the |
95 | standard of care for Nurse Midwife Patricia Hunsucker to not |
96 | know the correct level of Pitocin being administered to her |
97 | patient, Mitzi Roden, and |
98 | WHEREAS, at 9:30 p.m., the administration of Pitocin was |
99 | again unreasonably and inappropriately increased to 16 |
100 | milliunits, when reasonable obstetric practice required that it |
101 | be discontinued in light of Mitzi Roden's excessive uterine |
102 | contractility and intrauterine pressure, and |
103 | WHEREAS, at 9:40 p.m., Aaron Edwards could no longer |
104 | compensate for the increasingly intense periods of |
105 | hypercontractility and excessive intrauterine pressure brought |
106 | on by the overuse and poor management of Pitocin administration, |
107 | and suffered a reasonably foreseeable and predictable severe |
108 | episode of bradycardia, where his heart rate plummeted to life- |
109 | endangering levels, which necessitated an emergency cesarean |
110 | section. Not until Aaron Edwards' heart rate crashed at 9:40 |
111 | p.m. did Nurse Midwife Patricia Hunsucker consult with her |
112 | supervising obstetrician, Diana Duvall, M.D., having not |
113 | discussed with Dr. Duvall her care and treatment of Mitzi |
114 | Roden's labor since 12:30 p.m. Because Dr. Duvall had not been |
115 | kept informed about the status of Mitzi Roden's labor, she was |
116 | not on the hospital grounds at the time Aaron Edwards' heart |
117 | rate crashed, and another obstetrician who was unfamiliar with |
118 | Mitzi Roden's labor performed the emergency cesarean section to |
119 | save Aaron Edwards' life, and |
120 | WHEREAS, there existed at the time of Mitzi Roden's labor |
121 | and delivery a compensation system whereby a nurse midwife such |
122 | as Patricia Hunsucker had a financial disincentive to consult |
123 | with her supervising obstetrician during the period of labor, |
124 | and |
125 | WHEREAS, Lee Memorial Health System had in place at the |
126 | time of Mitzi Roden's labor and delivery rules regulating the |
127 | use of Pitocin for the augmentation of labor, which required |
128 | that Pitocin be discontinued immediately upon the occurrence of |
129 | tetanic contractions, nonreassuring fetal heart-rate patterns, |
130 | or contractions closer then every 2 minutes, and |
131 | WHEREAS, in violation of rules regulating the use of |
132 | Pitocin for the augmentation of labor, Labor and Delivery Nurse |
133 | Beth Jencks and Nurse Midwife Patricia Hunsucker failed to |
134 | immediately discontinue the administration of Pitocin in the |
135 | face of hyperstimulated uterine contractions and excessive |
136 | intrauterine pressure and increased the amount of Pitocin being |
137 | administered to Mitzi Roden or remained completely unaware that |
138 | the levels of Pitocin were being repeatedly increased, and |
139 | WHEREAS, Aaron Edwards suffered permanent and catastrophic |
140 | injuries to his brain as a consequence of the acute hypoxic |
141 | ischemic episode at birth, and |
142 | WHEREAS, Aaron Edwards currently and for the remainder of |
143 | his life will suffer from spastic and dystonic cerebral palsy |
144 | and quadriparesis, rendering him totally and permanently |
145 | disabled, and |
146 | WHEREAS, Aaron Edwards currently and for the remainder of |
147 | his life will not be able to orally communicate other than to |
148 | his closest caregivers, and is entirely dependent on a computer |
149 | tablet communication board for speech, and |
150 | WHEREAS, Aaron Edwards suffers from profound physical |
151 | limitations affecting all four of his limbs such that he |
152 | requires supervision 24 hours a day and cannot feed, bathe, |
153 | dress, or protect himself, and |
154 | WHEREAS, Aaron Edwards will never be able to enter the |
155 | competitive job market and will require a lifetime of medical, |
156 | therapeutic, rehabilitation, and nursing care, and |
157 | WHEREAS, after a 6-week trial, a jury in Lee County |
158 | returned a verdict in favor of Aaron Edwards, Mitzi Roden, and |
159 | Mark Edwards, finding Lee Memorial Health System 100 percent |
160 | responsible for Aaron Edwards' catastrophic and entirely |
161 | preventable injuries and awarded a total of $28,477,966.48 to |
162 | the Guardianship of Aaron Edwards, $1,340,000 to Mitzi Roden, |
163 | and $1 million to Mark Edwards, and |
164 | WHEREAS, the court also awarded Aaron Edwards, Mitzi Roden, |
165 | and Mark Edwards $174,969.65 in taxable costs, and |
166 | WHEREAS, Lee Memorial Health System tendered $200,000 |
167 | toward payment of this claim, in accordance with the statutory |
168 | limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, |
169 | NOW, THEREFORE, |
170 |
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171 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
172 |
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173 | Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
174 | are found and declared to be true. |
175 | Section 2. Lee Memorial Health System, formerly known as |
176 | the Hospital Board of Directors of Lee County, is authorized and |
177 | directed to appropriate from funds of the county not otherwise |
178 | appropriated and to draw the following warrants as compensation |
179 | for the medical malpractice committed against Aaron Edwards and |
180 | Mitzi Roden: |
181 | (1) The sum of $28,454,838.43, payable to the Guardianship |
182 | of Aaron Edwards; |
183 | (2) The sum of $1,338,989.67, payable to Mitzi Roden; and |
184 | (3) The sum of $999,199.03, payable to Mark Edwards. |
185 | Section 3. The amount paid by Lee Memorial Health System |
186 | pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount awarded |
187 | under this act are intended to provide the sole compensation for |
188 | all present and future claims arising out of the factual |
189 | situation described in this act which resulted in the injuries |
190 | suffered by Aaron Edwards. The total amount paid for attorney's |
191 | fees, lobbying fees, costs, and other similar expenses relating |
192 | to this claim may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount |
193 | awarded under this act. |
194 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |