Seattle PI, December 10, 2013
Levi Pulkkinen, SeattlePI | December 10, 2013
A King County jury has returned a $50 million verdict against a Kent public hospital and a medical testing firm after finding both failed to detect a severe genetic problem in a fetus.
Returning its verdict Tuesday morning, the jury found Valley Medical Center and LabCorp staff failed to spot a rare disabling genetic disorder in the child during tests conducted at the parents’ request. The child’s father was a carrier for the disease, and the couple sought the test to determine whether to continue the pregnancy.
Due to errors made in testing, Rhea and Brock Wuth were told their son Oliver did not have the chromosomal abnormality. When Oliver was born, however, he did have the problem and would require 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
The judgment payment will go to the couple and Oliver Wuth, whose care was estimated by the plaintiffs to cost more than $20 million throughout his life. LabCorps had hoped to set a lower bar — living in a group home with occasional nursing care, the boy would only need about $2.3 million in support.
Speaking following the verdict, attorney Todd Gardner said Valley Medical created an opportunity for error by understaffing its genetic counseling clinic. LabCorp wasn’t provided crucial documentation, and lab staff failed to notice its absence.
Gardner said both institutions were more concerned with maximizing revenue than ensuring their patients were being cared for properly.
“It was a complete failure of the checks and balances you’re supposed to have in medicine and a betrayal of the faith my clients placed in them,” Gardner said.
“You cannot let the business of medicine get in the way of the practice of medicine,” he continued.
In a statement Tuesday, a spokeswoman for University of Washington Medicine, which operates Valley Medical, denied wrongdoing by staff.
“We are very sorry for the tragedy the Wuth family suffered,” spokeswoman Kim Blakeley said in a statement. “We continue to believe Valley Medical Center staff members acted appropriately.”
Two years after their son’s birth, the Wuths filed a lawsuit against Valley Medical and Laboratory Corporation of America, the publically traded firm that conducted part of the testing better known as LabCorp. Both are responsible for paying the judgment handed down Tuesday.
Gardner faulted the hospital for cuts to its maternal-fetal medicine clinic shortly before the 2007 mistake. At the time, the clinic was borrowing a genetic counselor from another hospital one day a week; Gardner said all similar centers in King County paid full-time genetic counselors.
The genetic counselor was tasked with shepherding the chromosomal tests through to the lab and ensuring they were conducted properly. However the appropriate tests were not completed, and LabCorp never received proper instructions.
Prior to the pregnancy, the Wuths were told Brock had a 50 percent chance of passing on a genetic problem to his child. Because such a pregnancy would likely end in a miscarriage, their odds of Rhea Wuth having an affected child were much lower but still substantial.
Having decided they did not wish to bring a severely disabled child into the world, the Wuths were prepared to terminate a pregnancy if the child tested positive for the chromosomal abnormality.
A LabCorp staff member failed to get the appropriately detailed medical history documentation and didn’t ask Valley Medical for more information. Gardner said the employee was a trainee who left the lab three days after reviewing the test results at issue.
“The lab knew there was a family history of a severe genetic abnormality,” Gardner said in a statement.
“They needed to comply with their error prevention policy by making a phone call to ask about missing information—the roadmap to this specific genetic defect,” he continued. “LabCorp never made that call.”
Oliver, now 5, has significant physical and cognitive impairments, and a number of physical abnormalities. His lifespan, though, is not expected to be shortened by his disease.
At trial, attorneys for Valley Medical argued the hospital’s services met professional standards. They also disputed claims by the couple’s attorney that hospital staff failed to provide the correct documents to LabCorp.
LabCorp attorneys denied any negligence and argued the boy’s mother couldn’t show she would have aborted the pregnancy had she known of the problem. An attorney for the firm said an appeal or additional litigation is being considered.
“We believe the facts and the law do not support the verdict,” LabCorp attorney and executive F. Samuel Eberts III said in a statement. “LabCorp acted properly and diligently in performing the test that was ordered by the physician.”
LabCorp and Valley Medical are each required to pay half of the total judgment; each would have to pay more if either could not cover its portion. That division of payment may be subject to court action by either institution, both of which are insured against such legal action.
Tuesday’s verdict followed a seven-week trial before King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer.
The Times News, December 13, 2013
Michael D. Abernethy, Times-News | December 13, 2013
A Washington state jury returned a $50 million verdict this week against LabCorp and a hospital after finding both were negligent in testing for a genetic defect in a fetus.
On Tuesday, the jury found that the failure to detect a rare genetic disorder — after the child’s parents specifically requested the test to determine whether to continue the pregnancy — injured the child, Oliver Wuth, and his parents, Brock and Rhea Wuth.
The verdict is to pay for damages and for Oliver Wuth’s lifetime care. Both LabCorp and Valley Medical Center, in King County, Wash., must share equally the payment of the $50 million verdict, the jury decided.
An attorney for LabCorp indicated Friday that the company could appeal the verdict. LabCorp is headquartered in Burlington and is Alamance County’s largest employer.
“We believe the facts and the law do not support the verdict,” F. Samuel Eberts III, LabCorp’s chief legal officer, wrote in a statement. “LabCorp acted properly and diligently in performing the test that was ordered by the physician. We will consider all available options, including post-trial motions, and appeal if necessary.”
In the complaint, attorney Todd Gardner claimed damages for “wrongful life.”
Gardner argued that the birth and resulting damages would have been avoided if the hospital had conducted the test properly and if the LabCorp subsidiary had checked the couple’s medical history.
IN 2007, RHEA Wuth became pregnant, and the couple had the fetus tested for a genetic disorder at Valley Medical Center.
In 2003, Brock Wuth was tested for a chromosomal abnormality that runs in his family and was found to be a carrier. The results of that test showed a 50 percent chance that the abnormality would be passed to his children.
The results of that test and documentation of his family history were given to an obstetrician at the hospital, who submitted the genetic test to Dynacare Laboratories, a subsidiary of LabCorp, the complaint said. The doctor didn’t include genetic information or family history.
Dynacare didn’t request any additional information and reported no genetic abnormalities in test results on Jan. 7, 2008.
Oliver Wuth was born on July 12, 2008.
The couple sued in 2010.
The jury’s verdict was $25 million for Oliver Wuth’s damages and care and $25 million for Brock and Rhea Wuth.
Seattle PI, August 26, 2015
Levi Pulkkinen, SeattlePI | August 26, 2015
In a unanimous decision, a Washington appeals court has upheld a $50 million verdict in favor of a King County couple whose son was born with severe birth defects that should have been spotted by genetic testing.
Ruling Monday, the three-judge appellate court affirmed the December 2013 verdict in favor of Rhea and Brock Wuth, whose son Oliver suffers from a chromosomal problem the Wuths had asked doctors to check for. Three care providers — including the Valley Medical Center in Renton — had asked that the judgment be thrown out.
Born in 2008, Oliver’s body didn’t make sense. His fingers were long, but his hands, like his feet, were tiny. His head was bent and turned, his leg muscles so tight they wouldn’t straighten. His parents described him as “vacant” and “broken.”
Four years later, Oliver could walk but not run or climb stairs. His brain was underdeveloped and small. His language consisted of a few dozen words understood only by those closest to him. He’ll require a lifetime of demanding care.
Prior to his birth, the Wuths had worried that Oliver would be afflicted by a rare genetic abnormality that Brock carried. Prenatal tests conducted by Laboratory Corporation of America for Valley Medical Center came back clear because of errors by staff at both organizations.
“After we got the test results back, we finally allowed ourselves to get excited about it and feel like, yay, we made it this time, we are going to have a healthy baby,” Brock Wuth explained at trial. “And then when he was born, it was clear to me that he wasn’t right.”
The Wuths sued in 2010, claiming the hospital and lab caused a “wrongful birth” by failing to properly conduct the genetic tests. A King County Superior Court jury agreed and awarded the $50 million judgment.
The money is expected to be split between the couple and Oliver, whose care was estimated by the plaintiffs to cost more than $20 million throughout his life. LabCorp had hoped to set a lower bar — living in a group home with occasional nursing care, the boy would only need about $2.3 million in support.
Prior to the pregnancy, the Wuths were told that Brock had a 50 percent chance of passing on a genetic problem to his child. Because such a pregnancy would likely end in a miscarriage, their odds of Rhea Wuth having an affected child were much lower but still substantial. Having decided they did not wish to bring a severely disabled child into the world, the Wuths were prepared to terminate a pregnancy if the child tested positive for the chromosomal abnormality.
A LabCorp staff member failed to get the appropriately detailed medical history documentation and didn’t ask Valley Medical for more information. The employee was a trainee who left the lab three days after reviewing the test results at issue.
Speaking following the verdict, attorney Todd Gardner said Valley Medical created an opportunity for error by understaffing its genetic counseling clinic. LabCorp wasn’t provided crucial documentation, and lab staff failed to notice its absence. At the time, Gardner said both institutions were more concerned with maximizing revenue than ensuring their patients were being cared for properly.
“It was a complete failure of the checks and balances you’re supposed to have in medicine and a betrayal of the faith my clients placed in them,” Gardner said.
“You cannot let the business of medicine get in the way of the practice of medicine,” he continued.
At trial, attorneys for Valley Medical argued that the hospital’s services met professional standards. They also disputed claims by the couple’s attorney that hospital staff failed to provide the correct documents to LabCorp.
LabCorp attorneys denied any negligence and argued that the boy’s mother couldn’t show she would have aborted the pregnancy had she known of the problem.
Following the verdict, attorneys for LabCorp asked that the state Court of Appeals, Division I, rule that the judgment was so excessive that it “shocks the conscience.” The three-judge panel declined to do so.
LabCorp and Valley Medical are each required to pay half of the total judgment; each would have to pay more if either could not cover its portion. That division of payment may be subject to court action by either institution, both of which are insured against such legal action.
Appeals Court Judges James Verellen and Michael Trickey joined in an opinion written by Judge Michael Spearman. King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer presided over the trial.
Renton Reporter, December 19, 2013
Dean Radford, Renton Reporter | December 19, 2013
Valley Medical Center and a national medical laboratory are considering whether to appeal a jury’s verdict to award $50 million to a Burien couple whose son was born with a genetic defect.
There was reason for Brock and Rhea Wuth’s concern.
Brock Wuth’s cousin was born with the genetic defect, known as unbalanced chromosome translocation, and testing showed that he also carried the chromosomes that are essentially in the wrong place.
There was a 50-50 chance he could pass on the defect to his children. The Wuth’s son Ian was born with normal chromosomes in 2002 before Wuth was tested.
“They were lucky,” said their attorney, Todd Gardner of Renton, in an interview.
Taking no chances and on the advice of their obstetrician, the Wuths went to Valley Medical Center in 2007 for genetic testing of the fetus while the pregnancy was still in the first trimester, according to Gardner.
Tests showed the unborn child was normal, but when Oliver was born at Highline Hospital in July 2008, he had major mental and physical disabilities. The sophisticated test that would have shown Oliver carried the flawed chromosomes hadn’t been done, according to Gardner.
In a statement following the jury verdict, Valley Medical Center expressed “its sincere and heartfelt sympathies to the entire family for what they are dealing with now and in the days ahead. Notwithstanding this unfortunate result, we continue to believe that the staff of Valley Medical Center’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic acted appropriately and continue to provide high-quality care to our patients and their families.”
Gardner argued in a weeks-long trial in King County Superior Court that the genetic counseling unit at Valley’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic was understaffed and not properly supervised.
Valley Medical Center ordered the right test but didn’t provide the lab with the necessary information that would tell the lab where to look for the abnormal chromosomes, he said. And the lab, Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) of North Carolina, didn’t follow its own procedures that call for asking for any missing information, he said.
A standard genetic test was done and Valley didn’t catch the error, he said.
A King County Superior Court jury on Dec. 10 awarded the $50 million, to be paid equally by Valley Medical and LabCorp. Gardner said an appeal is almost certain, which likely will happen by mid-February. The appeal could take two years, he said.
LabCorp began providing genetic testing for Valley Medical in January 2005.
In its statement, Valley indicated that “out of respect for the parties involved as well as the process, we will withhold comment on the particulars of this case until we have an opportunity to discuss the next steps with legal counsel.”
In its statement, Laboratory Corporation of America indicated “We believe the facts and the law do not support the verdict. LabCorp acted properly and diligently in performing the test that was ordered by the physician. We will consider all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal, if necessary.”
The National Trial Lawyers, September 14, 2015
Eleanor Smith, The National Trial Lawyers | September 14, 2015
The Washington State Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a $50 million wrongful birth verdict in favor of a King County couple whose son was born with severe birth defects. The appellate court found the couple’s son’s chromosomal problem should have been spotted by genetic testing the couple specifically asked Laboratory Corporation of America (“LabCorp”) to perform.
Shocked Parents
While still pregnant with their son, Oliver, Rhea and Brock Wuth worried he might be afflicted by a rare genetic abnormality Brock carried. The Wuths requested prenatal tests conducted by LabCorp for Valley Medical Center, all of which came back clear because of errors by staff of both organizations.
Prior to the pregnancy, the Wuths were told that Brock had a 50 percent chance of passing on a chromosomal genetic problem to his child. Additionally, the Wuths were warned that such a pregnancy would probably end in a miscarriage, and perhaps even harm wife and mother Rhea Wuth. When the Wuths conceived, they knew the odds of having an affected child were substantial, so they asked their healthcare provider to check.
The Wuths decided they did not wish to bring a severely disabled child into the world and were prepared to terminate a pregnancy if the child tested positive for the chromosomal abnormality. LabCorp and Valley Medical Center, however, took that choice away from them.
After the Wuths got the test results back, they finally allowed themselves to get excited about the baby. Brock Wuth explained at trial that he and his wife “felt like, ‘Yay! We made it this time . . . We are going to have a healthy baby.’ And then when he was born, it was clear to me that he wasn’t right.”
When Oliver Wuth arrived in 2008, his body was disproportionate and did not function sensibly. His fingers were long, but his hands and feet were tiny. Oliver’s head was bent and turned, and his leg muscles were tight and unable to straighten. The Wuths described their newborn son as “vacant” and “broken.”
Four years later, at the time of trial, Oliver had just learned to walk . . . but running and climbing stairs remained impossible. His brain was underdeveloped and disproportionately small, and Oliver’s language consisted of a few dozen words understood only by those closest to him. He will require a lifetime of demanding care for his chromosomal condition.
Business of Medicine
The error occurred because a LabCorp staff member failed to get the appropriately detailed Wuth medical history documentation. Additionally, the LabCorp employee failed to ask Valley Medical for further necessary information. In short, LabCorp did not get crucial documentation, and lab staff failed to notice its absence. Notably, the employee was a trainee who left the lab just three days after reviewing the test results at issue.
The plaintiffs’ attorney Todd Gardner believes Valley Medical created an opportunity for error by understaffing its genetic counseling clinic. Garnder argued that both institutions were more concerned with maximizing revenue instead of ensuring their patients were being cared for properly. “It was a complete failure of the checks and balances you’re supposed to have in medicine and a betrayal of the faith my clients placed in them,” Gardner said. “You cannot let the business of medicine get in the way of the practice of medicine.”
Valley Medical and LabCorp urged the three-judge panel to find the jury award excessive and shocking to the conscience, but the panel declined. The two defendants are required to pay half of the total judgment.
The case is Wuth v. LabCorp and Valley Medical Center in Division One of the Court of Appeals for the State of Washington, Case No. 71497-0-I, and can be found here.
My Northwest, December 10, 2013
Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest | December 10, 2013
A King County jury has ordered Valley Medical Center and Laboratory Corporation of America to pay $50 million dollars for failing to accurately identify a severe genetic abnormality during a Burien woman’s pregnancy.
Rhea Wuth’s obstetrician referred her to the Renton Hospital in 2007 to test for genetic disorders in her unborn child because her husband Brock and his family were known to carry a rare, extremely disabling disorder.
Attorney Todd Gardner says the couple was told their baby would be healthy, but later would discover the correct test was never done.
Gardner says as a result, now 5-year-old Ollie was born with serious cognitive and physical defects that will require life-long medical care.
“It was a combination of mistakes at Valley Medical Center where their Maternal Fetal Medicine Center was understaffed to the point that the people who should have been there making the decisions about the tests and getting the right information to the lab were not there,” Gardner says.
Gardner accuses the hospital of putting profits before patients because it cut genetic counseling from three days a week to just one, and failed to replace the full-time MFM manager.
Valley Medical Center apologized but defended its actions in a statement to KING 5:
“We are very sorry for the tragedy the Wuth family has suffered. We continue to believe…staff members acted appropriately.”