Attorney Christina Sonsire of the Ziff Law Firm has won a major medical malpractice verdict in an Otsego County court for a 7-year-old girl who suffered a birth injury.

The girl and her parents were awarded $2.1 million by a jury Tuesday evening at the conclusion of a three-week trial. Christina was the trial attorney representing the family.

The jury of three men and three women determined the settlement in the Supreme Court of Otsego County in Cooperstown. Justice Donald Cerio presided over the case.

Attorney John Pollock of Binghamton represented the defendants, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, Bassett Healthcare and certified nurse midwife Patricia Brown.

Here is Christina’s report on the trial:

The jury found that the midwives at the hospital did not provide appropriate prenatal care for the girl’s mother and midwife Patricia Brown caused the injury by pulling too hard on the baby’s head during delivery. As a result, the child has suffered a permanent injury to the nerves in her neck and has limited mobility in her left arm.

The case has national significance because the verdict involves an injury called Erb’s palsy, in which a newborn suffers paralysis in an arm during an abnormal or difficult childbirth or labor.

Attorneys across the country were paying attention to this trial because the defendants claimed this injury happened before the girl was born. The case will have significance in all future litigation of this type of case.

Renowned Long Island attorney Joseph Lichtenstein, of Mineola, N.Y., who was hired to represent the family and brought Christina in to try the case, praised Christina’s work in the courtroom.

“Ms. Sonsire brings a unique combination of talent, intelligence and drive to her work as a trial lawyer, as well as an acute sensitivity to issues involving women and birth trauma,” Lichtenstein said. “She was able to present this highly complex case in a way the jury could fully understand. She is truly remarkable.”

Christina worked day and night for more than a month to earn this incredible verdict. It goes to show you that when you combine hard work, intelligence and fearlessness, great things can happen. We are so happy for this little girl, who deserves compensation for the injuries inflicted upon her by medical personnel. She was lucky to have Christina as her attorney.

Thanks for reading!

Jim