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Woman Partially Paralyzed By Childbirth Epidural Agrees To $13.5M Settlement With NJ Hospital

A woman who was left paralyzed in her lower legs after childbirth reportedly has agreed to a $13.5 million settlement of a lawsuit against Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

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Alexandra Mejia was 18 and pregnant with her first child when she was admitted to the New Brunswick hospital on Oct. 25, 2019, according to a story published in the New Jersey Law Journal.

A delayed diagnosis of blood that pooled in her lower back because of an epidural left her partially paralyzed, unable to walk and forced to use a catheter to urinate, it says.

An obstetric anesthesiologist noticed heavy bleeding but ruled out epidural hematoma after an examination, the suit contends. He compounded the problem by not notifying anyone once his shift ended, it says.

Mejia gave birth to a healthy boy, attorney Scott Parsons of O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble in Springfield told the Law Journal.

At no point did anyone overnight or the next day do anything to address Mejia’s condition, however, the lawsuit says.

An MRI after the fact showed the hematoma pressing on her spine, it says.

Parsons reached the settlement with physicians employed by Rutgers University and various nurses, the Law Journal reported.

SEE: Mother Permanently Injured in Epidural Injury Settles For $13.5 Million in Middlesex (NJ Law Journal)

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