The state of Iowa added to its tally of Board of Regents-related settlement payouts Wednesday by approving three more — including a $5 million agreement tied to allegations of medical negligence at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to be paid out over 30 years through 2053.
That settlement between the state and the parents of a now 7-year-old girl from Cedar County — who after a “prolonged and difficult” birth has “profound cerebral palsy, is unable to speak, sit or feed herself, and has limited mobility” — includes $4.25 million to be paid to the law firm, and $750,000 to the child.
That $750,000 is to be paid in monthly installments of nearly $2,000 until she’s 38 — beginning Oct. 1 and increasing annually at a 3 percent rate through Sept. 1, 2053.
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UI Physicians — Iowa’s largest multi-specialty medical and surgical group practice — was supposed to pay a quarter of the $5 million. But because the physicians group has reached its annual cap, the state is paying the full amount from its general fund, according to the settlement approved 2-1 Wednesday by the three-member State Appeal Board.
State Treasurer Roby Smith was the “no” vote. And while Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen voted to approve — he did so with trepidation.
“I continue to have concerns with the malpractice claims and the amount of risk taxpayers are assuming without an opportunity to be part of the dialogue to their elected officials,” Paulsen said, noting Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation Stan Thompson “is having conversations with them.”
“So, with that in mind, I’ll go ahead and move it.”
The appeal board Wednesday also approved a half-million dollar settlement with a former UI Hospitals and Clinics medical resident who in 2018 sued UIHC, the regents, and her program director for allegedly discriminating against her for her multiple sclerosis.
That case in December 2021 went to trial before a jury, which sided with the state on one count but was hung on remaining claims — resulting in a new trial set for August 2023.
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Preempting that second trial, the two sides this month agreed to a $495,000 settlement — including $96,856 in the form of a UIHC payroll check; $150,000 in additional compensation; and $248,144 in attorney fees.
Smith also voted against that deal.
Rounding out its regent settlements this month — the last month of the budget year that ends June 30 — was a $25,000 payout to a Marshall County woman who said she suffered a spinal fracture after a man fell on top of her from an upper deck in Iowa State University’s Jack Trice Stadium.
Cherryl Woltjer said she was attending Iowa State’s game against Oklahoma State University on Oct. 26, 2019, when the man fell over the railing to the lower deck where she was sitting — fracturing her spine, resulting in “debilitating and permanent” injury.
To date, including this week’s agreements, the state has paid nearly $10 million to settle lawsuits against its regent universities. That does not include the $2 million the state initially paid as part of a $4.2 million agreement to settle a discrimination lawsuit 12 former football players filed against UI Athletics and its coaches. Following widespread pushback from lawmakers and state officials, the university reimbursed the state’s general fund for that $2 million.
The $5 million settlement approved Wednesday stemmed from a July 2015 labor and delivery involving a complex set of circumstances, according to the lawsuit filed in January 2018 by parents Kyle and Lauren Coder.
The couple had struggled with infertility, and 26-year-old Lauren Coder had — among other things — been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension while pregnant in 2015 with her daughter.
When she was admitted to be induced in July, doctors were monitoring a range of concerns — including deceleration of the baby’s heart rate and indications of “fetal distress,” according to the lawsuit.
Among the heart rate decelerations was a prolonged episode, and doctors eventually decided to move forward with a cesarean section. After the baby was delivered, physicians recorded low scores on her Apgar test — gauging breathing, heart rate, muscle tone, skin color, and reflexes.
“Resuscitation included positive pressure ventilation for five minutes,” according to the lawsuit, reporting the infant in labor and delivery had suffered cuts to her neck and scalp and was given morphine for the pain.
About an hour later, she exhibited symptoms of a seizure — and later was diagnosed with a type of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen.
Monitoring of the infant revealed she had more than 100 subclinical seizures in her first few days of life, among other problems.
After her discharge a month later, the baby was diagnosed with “developmental delays, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and visual impairment.” She regularly receives occupational, physical, and speech therapy.
In the couple’s lawsuit, they blamed the problems on UIHC negligence and sought $38 million. Although their expert witnesses planned to testify they would need more than $30 million for the child’s “life care plan,” the parties settled for $5 million after a judge handed down rulings in March about who could and couldn’t testify at trial.
www.thegazette.com
That settlement between the state and the parents of a now 7-year-old girl from Cedar County — who after a “prolonged and difficult” birth has “profound cerebral palsy, is unable to speak, sit or feed herself, and has limited mobility” — includes $4.25 million to be paid to the law firm, and $750,000 to the child.
That $750,000 is to be paid in monthly installments of nearly $2,000 until she’s 38 — beginning Oct. 1 and increasing annually at a 3 percent rate through Sept. 1, 2053.
Advertisement
UI Physicians — Iowa’s largest multi-specialty medical and surgical group practice — was supposed to pay a quarter of the $5 million. But because the physicians group has reached its annual cap, the state is paying the full amount from its general fund, according to the settlement approved 2-1 Wednesday by the three-member State Appeal Board.
State Treasurer Roby Smith was the “no” vote. And while Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen voted to approve — he did so with trepidation.
“I continue to have concerns with the malpractice claims and the amount of risk taxpayers are assuming without an opportunity to be part of the dialogue to their elected officials,” Paulsen said, noting Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation Stan Thompson “is having conversations with them.”
“So, with that in mind, I’ll go ahead and move it.”
The appeal board Wednesday also approved a half-million dollar settlement with a former UI Hospitals and Clinics medical resident who in 2018 sued UIHC, the regents, and her program director for allegedly discriminating against her for her multiple sclerosis.
That case in December 2021 went to trial before a jury, which sided with the state on one count but was hung on remaining claims — resulting in a new trial set for August 2023.
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Preempting that second trial, the two sides this month agreed to a $495,000 settlement — including $96,856 in the form of a UIHC payroll check; $150,000 in additional compensation; and $248,144 in attorney fees.
Smith also voted against that deal.
Rounding out its regent settlements this month — the last month of the budget year that ends June 30 — was a $25,000 payout to a Marshall County woman who said she suffered a spinal fracture after a man fell on top of her from an upper deck in Iowa State University’s Jack Trice Stadium.
Cherryl Woltjer said she was attending Iowa State’s game against Oklahoma State University on Oct. 26, 2019, when the man fell over the railing to the lower deck where she was sitting — fracturing her spine, resulting in “debilitating and permanent” injury.
To date, including this week’s agreements, the state has paid nearly $10 million to settle lawsuits against its regent universities. That does not include the $2 million the state initially paid as part of a $4.2 million agreement to settle a discrimination lawsuit 12 former football players filed against UI Athletics and its coaches. Following widespread pushback from lawmakers and state officials, the university reimbursed the state’s general fund for that $2 million.
$5 million settlement
The $5 million settlement approved Wednesday stemmed from a July 2015 labor and delivery involving a complex set of circumstances, according to the lawsuit filed in January 2018 by parents Kyle and Lauren Coder.
The couple had struggled with infertility, and 26-year-old Lauren Coder had — among other things — been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension while pregnant in 2015 with her daughter.
When she was admitted to be induced in July, doctors were monitoring a range of concerns — including deceleration of the baby’s heart rate and indications of “fetal distress,” according to the lawsuit.
Among the heart rate decelerations was a prolonged episode, and doctors eventually decided to move forward with a cesarean section. After the baby was delivered, physicians recorded low scores on her Apgar test — gauging breathing, heart rate, muscle tone, skin color, and reflexes.
“Resuscitation included positive pressure ventilation for five minutes,” according to the lawsuit, reporting the infant in labor and delivery had suffered cuts to her neck and scalp and was given morphine for the pain.
About an hour later, she exhibited symptoms of a seizure — and later was diagnosed with a type of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen.
Monitoring of the infant revealed she had more than 100 subclinical seizures in her first few days of life, among other problems.
After her discharge a month later, the baby was diagnosed with “developmental delays, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and visual impairment.” She regularly receives occupational, physical, and speech therapy.
In the couple’s lawsuit, they blamed the problems on UIHC negligence and sought $38 million. Although their expert witnesses planned to testify they would need more than $30 million for the child’s “life care plan,” the parties settled for $5 million after a judge handed down rulings in March about who could and couldn’t testify at trial.
State paying $5M UIHC settlement, raising regent total
The state of Iowa added to its tally of Board of Regents-related settlement payouts Wednesday by approving three more – including a $5 million agreement tied to allegations of medical negligence at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to be paid out over 30 years through 2053.
www.thegazette.com
