$5.45 Million Settlement for Injured Child

Emelinda Tavares, an infant, and Jose Tavares, her father, v. Montefiore Hospital

Judge: Stanley V. Green.

Attorneys: Daniel C. Minc of Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLC. for Emelinda and Jose Tavares.

Alan B. Friedberg of Bartlett, McDonough, Bastone & Monaghan L.L.P., White Plains, for Montefiore Hospital.

Emelinda Tavares, than nine years old, arrived at Montefiore hospital with an obstruction in the pulmonary heart. An attempt was made to dilate through balloon angioplasty, but when Emelinda Tavares awoke she had lost use of her right arm and right leg and was suffering from some speech deficits. A CAT scan revealed that she had suffered an embolism during the procedure, leading to a stroke which affected the right side of her body.

Plaintiffs claim that the hospital's failure to use Heparin, a blood thinner, during the angioplasty, causing a blood clot to form, which then migrated to the brain and caused a stroke. According to the plaintiff, defendant argued that it had upheld a reasonable standard of care and that it was an excepted practice not to use Heparin in such procedure.

Injuries to the hand that caused Tavares to have almost no use of a right arm, but walks, independently, and has regained speech.