Brain-Damaged at Birth Seven Years Ago Today, Jillian Frazier’s Parents Aim to Hold Accountable Those Responsible for “Preventable Medical Errors”
29 Julio 2024 - 2:56PM
The parents of Jillian Frazier, from Dunn, North Carolina, who
suffered irreversible brain damage at birth, are celebrating their
daughter’s seventh birthday today. At the same time, they are
working with their Grant & Eisenhofer (G&E) attorneys to
hold accountable those responsible for the alleged litany of
horrific, preventable medical errors that occurred during and after
the induced labor and delivery at Harnett Health, known in 2017 as
Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital.
Attorney Lisa B. Weinstein, who heads the national birth injury
and medical negligence practice at G&E, represents the family
in the litigation ( J. Frazier, et al. v. Harnett Health System et
al., North Carolina Superior Court Division, Harnett County, 21-CVS
188). She said after the most recent development in the case,
“Jillian turns seven today and her parents are making this a very
special day for their very special little girl. However, it also
marks seven years of pain and suffering for the physically and
emotionally-impaired Jillian; and it’s been seven years searching
for answers to endless, troubling questions about why so many
medical professionals – including doctors and nurses -
catastrophically failed to properly care for mother Beckylee
Blanchette and baby Jillian.” In addition to Ms. Weinstein, G&E
litigators Edward J. Aucoin and James B. Puritz are co-counsel to
the plaintiffs.
Beckylee and Jeremy Frazier, Jillian’s father, have been
unwavering in their efforts to learn how, according to the filing,
a labor and delivery nurse (B. Pope), since terminated and
de-licensed by state officials, was “able to divert for her own use
a highly addictive drug, Fentanyl, while directly responsible for
Beckylee’s care.” Beckylee said, “We were shocked when we later
found out that one of my nurses was addicted to pain killers, took
medicine intended to ease my labor pains, and was well known to
supervisors for being a drug abuser. Why was she allowed anywhere
near me or other patients?” She added, “We look forward to the day
at trial when all the facts can be presented to a Harnett County
jury and there can finally be justice for Jillian.”
The Fraziers’ complaint names as defendants the health system
and several attending medical personnel who played pivotal
institutional and individual roles regarding the allegedly
substandard, unprofessional, and injury-negligent treatment of mom
and baby. The plaintiffs assert, “It was well known before
Jillian’s delivery that Nurse Pope was a huge user of controlled
substances.” They added, “Harnett Health knew that nurses reporting
to work under the influence of controlled substances posed a risk
to patient safety.” (Nurse Pope was eventually terminated by the
hospital and barred from the practice of nursing. To date this is
the only legal action pending against her.)
In pre-trial, deposition testimony, forensic experts have
detailed the permanent, life-altering injuries Jillian suffered as
a result of the failures of the medical teams. A neurologist-expert
stated, “the brain injuries and other injuries, including but not
limited to metabolic acidosis, perinatal depression, respiratory
failure, neonatal encephalopathy, seizure activity, multi-organ
involvement, and hypertonia were proximately caused by the
defendants’ failure to act in accordance with the applicable
standards of care.”
And an expert in labor and delivery nursing procedures
testified, “Nurse Pope’s diversion of the Fentanyl from her patient
Beckylee Blanchette on the afternoon of July 28, 2017 resulted in
that nurse not complying with the standard of care applicable to
her in regards to monitoring her patients and responding to their
conditions with proper interventions.”
The pending lawsuit seeks not only a jury trial but compensatory
damages. It is asserted, and supported in the deposition by another
plaintiffs’ expert, “Jillian will never be able to live
independently, manage her own finances, or make her own decisions
regarding her medical care and treatment.”
Attorney William K. Goldfarb, of Monroe, North Carolina, is
serving as co-plaintiff’s counsel.
Contacts:Lisa B. Weinstein / lweinstein@gelaw.com
/ 312-610-5350Edward Aucoin / eaucoin@gelaw.com / 312-610-5407Steph
Rosenfeld / steph@idadvisors.com / 215-514-4101
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0a53756a-4a96-4a67-9a9d-01f0db2a0a24