Verdict: $2,475,000

The mother's family sued for wrongful death from a rare necrotizing fasciitis infection to her episiotomy wound which was contracted at the time of delivery.

The defendant obstetrician repaired the wound and ordered a narcotic medication for pain in the mother's wound site. Despite continued pain and an increased white blood cell count two days after delivery, the obstetrician and nursing staff discharged the mother home.

The plaintiff's attorney Kurt Lloyd alleged that the defendants missed signs and symptoms of an evolving infection, and he retained an obstetrical expert with a specialty in maternal infections who testified to the negligence of the defendants proving that, even though the death rate for this infection was 70%, the mother should have survived with timely, appropriate treatment.

Estate of Moore v. Wrona, M.D. and St. Joseph's Medical Center