PITTSBURGH – A Mercer County mother and minor child have filed a lawsuit over injuries allegedly sustained by the child during birth.
Delani J. Stewart-Wilson, a minor, by her natural mother and legal guardian D'Ericka Stewart, filed a complaint on Oct. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against United States of America citing the Federal Tort Claims Act over alleged negligence and professional malpractice.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that Delani J. Stewart-Wilson suffered a brachial plexus injury during child birth in 2009 at Sharon Regional Hospital under the service of Dr. John Gallagher. The suit states these injuries have required the minor plaintiff to need surgeries and physical and occupational therapy.
Gallagher was employed by the Department of Health and Human Services while rendering care to Stewart, the suit states.
The plaintiffs hold United States of America responsible because Gallagher allegedly failed to identify fetal macrosomia and its risk and consider a cesarean delivery in order to minimize the risk of injuries to Delani J. Stewart-Wilson.
The plaintiffs seek judgment against the defendant in an amount that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of this court. She is represented by Victor H. Pribanic and Philip C. Chapman of Pribanic & Pribanic LLC in White Oak.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 2:17-cv-01335-MRH