Verdict against CoxHealth named 58th largest in 2021 by law journal

A jury verdict against CoxHealth was one of the largest in the country last year, according to The National Law Journal.

Joplin-based law firm Johnson, Vorhees & Martucci LLC last year represented the defendants in a roughly $34 million verdict, according to a news release. Missouri Lawyers Weekly previously named the decision the largest medical malpractice award in the state last year.

The CoxHealth verdict ranks No. 58 in The National Law Journal report.

“We took on the case to help the family meet its future financial burdens and ensure that CoxHealth and surrounding hospitals improve their standard of care,” said attorney Roger Johnson, who represented the case with Scott Vorhees, in the release. “We see this as a victory for the family and for the residents of Springfield and surrounding areas.”

Johnson and Vorhees represented the mother of the infant in the case that was tried in March 2021. The case dates back to 2014, when Katie Chittenden was in labor with her child, Brody Kendrick, at CoxHealth in Springfield. Chittenden was given increasing doses of labor-induction drug Pitocin, causing her contractions to become frequent and resulting in Kendrick being deprived of oxygen, officials with the law firm say. The jury found malpractice occurred in the event that led to brain damage and other medical issues for Kendrick, according to past reporting.

A CoxHealth spokesperson previously sent a statement to Springfield Business Journal: "We are deeply sorry any time an incident like this occurs, but we stand behind our teams and the care we provided in this case. Even though we disagree with the jury’s verdict, we respect the judicial process."

In The National Law Review report, the CoxHealth verdict is between a $34.8 million medical malpractice case in Baltimore, Maryland, at No. 57, and a $33.9 million product liability case in Florida, at No. 59.

No. 1 is a $301 billion worker/workplace negligence case involving a sports bar in Texas.