Opinion ID: 2275546
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Underlying Medical Malpractice Action

Text: Appellants allege that from the time that James Jr. was born on August 29, 1994, until he was eighteen months old, he exhibited symptoms consistent with neurological disorders. Specifically, at birth, his head was thirty-six point eight centimeters in circumference, a size that Appellants claimed was far in excess of normal. Appellants asserted that Dr. Desai should have been concerned about this and the continued growth of James Jr.'s head over the ensuing eighteen months, and should have determined its cause. Appellants contend that Dr. Desai at the very least should have realized that James Jr. was having neurological problems when, at fourteen months of age, he started to experience trembling in his legs and would not crawl or pull himself up as he had been doing. Appellants claim that Dr. Desai wrongly focused on ear infections as the cause of the child's problems and it was not until doctors at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh examined James Jr. on February 27, 1996, that it was determined that he was suffering from hydrocephalus [2] and a malignant brain tumor, which had spread to the brain stem. Appellants claimed that, as a result of Dr. Desai's malpractice, James Jr. suffered, among other things, severe neurological damage, hydrocephalus, malignant tumor growth, physical and mental pain, and (most importantly to this case) medical expenses, which, at the time of the filing of the pretrial statement in March of 1999, were purported to be $459,728.24. Dr. Desai saw things quite differently. Her experts were prepared to refute the allegations that she was negligent. Dr. Desai asserted that although James Jr.'s head was large, it was in proportion with his body. Furthermore, Dr. Desai claimed that the Appellants' experts did not rely on the most accurate growth chart to evaluate the head size of James Jr. Dr. Desai's experts referred to a chart developed by the federal government, which showed that James Jr.'s head was in the seventy-fifth percentile and not the ninety-eighth percentile as the experts for Appellants had asserted. Dr. Desai also contended that at the age of one year, a physical examination did not disclose any neurological problems and that on November 30, 1995, Dr. Desai noted her concern about the child and recorded that the child needed close following. However, notwithstanding her request to see the child again in two weeks, James Jr. was not brought in to see Dr. Desai again until January 26, 1996, at which time she correctly started the process necessary for the February, 1996 admission of James Jr. to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where his problems were diagnosed.