University of Iowa Health Care to pay family $3.5M after infant born with brain damage

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa Health Care has agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with the family of an infant who — following days of intense labor at the UI hospitals and clinics a decade ago — was born with brain damage and physical impairment, making her “permanently dependent upon others for her care.”

The State Appeal Board approved the settlement Tuesday, a month after approving a $4.2 million settlement between UIHC and a 38-year-old man who suffered “catastrophic and permanent brain injuries” while in restraints in the ER in April 2022.

In total, the UI Physicians group this budget year has paid $7.3 million to settle UIHC lawsuits — none of which so far has come from Iowa’s general fund after the state in 2023 renegotiated a new self-insurance deal that obligates UI Physicians to cover up to $6 million per claim and $15 million a year.

That is well above the previous cap of $5 million per claim and $9 million per year.

Although UIHC denied the allegations of negligence involved in the most recent $3.5 million settlement, “in light of the extent of the injuries and uncertainty associated with a jury trial, substantial negotiations occurred between the parties resulting in a resolution of all claims.”

The pregnancy in question started in July 2015 in Bangladesh, where Syeda Zaman presented at Popular Diagnostic Centre for a seven-week ultrasound, according to a lawsuit she filed in January 2024.

She continued with her prenatal appointments there until traveling to the United States in October 2015. She began her care with the Women’s Health Group in Manhattan, Kan. at 25 weeks before presenting to UIHC Labor and Delivery on Jan. 19, 2016, according to the lawsuit.

At that time, she was complaining of decreased fetal movement, pelvic pressure, and itching and was discharged with a yeast infection diagnosis, according to the lawsuit. On Feb. 1 — about a month before her due date — Zaman went to the UIHC ER reporting she had fallen on ice and was experiencing leg and groin pain.

Following four hours of fetal monitoring and a nonstress test, Zaman was sent home.

Two days past her due date, the university scheduled Zaman for a March 12 induction — but during an appointment March 11 reported decreased fetal movement and was admitted to UIHC Labor and Delivery at 1 p.m.

The following day, at about 9:45 p.m., Zaman was given Pitocin to help induce labor. She continued to receive that drug on and off over the next 24 hours, according to the lawsuit.

Zaman spiked a fever at 2 p.m. March 13 that increased to 103 by 6:15 p.m. — presumably due to a bacterial infection and inflammation of the amniotic fluid, placenta, and fetal membranes, according to the lawsuit. She began pushing at 5:40 p.m. but by 7 p.m. felt exhausted and by 7:30 p.m. was refusing to push.

Nearly 24 hours after starting Pitocin, the medical team discontinued it and began preparing for a c-section.

The baby was born by c-section at 9:29 p.m. with low Apgars scores and weighing about 7 pounds.

“(The infant) required resuscitation in the operating room, including stimulation, suctioning and positive pressure ventilation via CPAP,” according to the lawsuit, reporting the child today “suffers from brain damage, developmental delay and other injuries and damages.”

Zaman’s allegations of negligence include failing to initiative intrauterine resuscitative measures in response to an abnormal fetal heart rate; failing to perform a timely c-section; failing to assess the baby’s medical condition; and improper Pitocin administration.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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