The verdict represents the largest medical malpractice verdict in Missouri history. The child's injuries caused him to suffer from cerebral palsy. The verdict came down fittingly on National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day.
ST. LOUIS, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On March 25, 2025, a St. Louis County jury rendered a $48.1 million verdict to a permanently brain injured child of a woman who was a nurse at Mercy Hospital when Dr. Daniel McNeive, a Mercy Clinic obstetrician, allowed her to go over 12 hours in the pushing stage of labor before delivering her baby.
The verdict represents the largest medical malpractice verdict in Missouri history. The child's injuries caused him to suffer from cerebral palsy. The verdict came down fittingly on National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day.
Gunn | Slater attorneys Amy Collignon Gunn and Erica B. Slater, along with co-counsel Elizabeth S. Lenivy of Simon Law, PC, tried the case to verdict for three weeks before Judge Ribaudo in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The jury deliberated for four hours before returning a verdict against Mercy Hospital, Mercy Clinic, and Dr. Daniel McNeive. The verdict included $20 Million in punitive damages against Dr. McNeive and his practice group, Mercy Clinic.
Minor, R.A., was born to Sarah and Blake Anyan on May 4, 2020. Sarah Anyan, 35, a cardiac nurse at Mercy Hospital since 2018, chose Mercy for her pre-natal and labor and delivery care since Mercy's employee insurance mandated a preference for Mercy providers. Blake Anyan, 36, a respiratory therapist, had also previously worked at Mercy.
"The jury was dedicated and attentive throughout the long trial. They courageously awarded the Anyan family an amount that will allow them to take care of their child for the rest of his life, even after they are gone," said lead attorney Amy Gunn. "With their punitive award of $20 million, the jury sent a strong message to Mercy Clinic and their doctor: Stop these dangerous labor and delivery practices so other families don't suffer the same result at Mercy Hospital," added Gunn.
This was Sarah Anyan's first pregnancy. She arrived at Mercy Hospital St. Louis on May 3, 2020, after her water broke. There was no concern with mom or baby's health when they were admitted, and her pregnancy was uncomplicated.
Sarah was ready to push around 3:50 a.m. on May 4, 2020. By 6 a.m., a First-Year resident identified that Sarah's baby was in a difficult position for delivery and had made minimal progress despite two hours of pushing.
By 8 a.m., Sarah's labor entered into the uncommon subset of prolonged labors in which pushing lasts over four hours. Over 93% of first-time moms deliver their babies within a four-hour window. Dr. McNeive first came into Sarah's room at 8 a.m. He observed concerning information on the fetal heart rate tracings which indicated the potential for lack of oxygen to Sarah's baby. Despite acknowledging the prolonged length of her labor, Dr. McNeive instructed Sarah to continue pushing.
Sarah's record was devoid of documentation that Dr. McNeive returned to her bedside until 2 p.m., after delivering three other babies by C-section. No nurse called for Dr. McNeive during those additional six hours of pushing despite the risks of continuing labor.
By 2 p.m., Sarah's labor had far exceeded Dr. McNeive's record for his longest pushing stage, yet he continued to instruct Sarah to push. However, in the last 30 minutes of labor, the baby's heart rate tracing deteriorated. R.A. was delivered in distress at 4:24 p.m. after twelve and a half hours of the pushing stage.
Within hours of delivery, R.A. showed signs of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow. Within 15 hours of life, he began seizing.
R.A. suffered permanent brain damage from asphyxia during the end of his birth process and remained in the NICU for 46 days.
At trial, Gunn | Slater attorneys Amy Gunn and Erica Slater and Simon Law attorney Liz Lenivy proved that Dr. McNeive should have delivered R.A. by C-section as early at 9:30 a.m. Throughout her entire labor, Dr. McNeive failed to document anything in Sarah's chart, recommend a C-section, or inform Sarah and Blake of the dangerous situation they faced.
Sarah Anyan never returned to work at Mercy Hospital and has stayed home full-time to care for their son.
"We are so grateful that the jury listened to our story after years of fighting for our son," said Blake Anyan and Sarah Anyan, R.A.'s parents. "With this verdict, we know that our son's future is secure."
Gunn | Slater is a personal injury law firm located in Clayton, Missouri. Attorneys Amy Collignon Gunn and Erica B. Slater are trial-tested attorneys representing those harmed by medical errors, reckless drivers, and careless corporations. Gunn and Slater, after nearly 30 and 15 years of experience, respectively, founded Gunn | Slater in January 2025. This verdict represents their second successful jury verdict within two months of opening their law firm.
Co-counsel Liz Lenivy of Simon Law has litigated personal injury matters for the past decade. She brought invaluable insight, skill, and thoughtfulness to the trial team after working with Amy Gunn on this case for the past four years.
St. Louis County Circuit Court Case No. 21SL-CC03944
Media Contact
Amy Collignon Gunn, Gunn | Slater, 1 (314) 412-1432, [email protected], https://gunnslater.com/
SOURCE Gunn | Slater
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