A Utah judge has awarded a family nearly $1 billion after medical negligence during a baby’s delivery left her permanently disabled. It is the largest medical damages payout in the state’s history.
Judge Patrick Corum ruled that Steward Health Care was liable for the October 14, 2019, delivery of Azaylee McMicheal at Jordan Valley Medical Center, West Valley City.
Parents Anyssa Zancanella and Danniel McMicheal were granted $951 million in damages, according to court filings obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.
“Zancanella would have been better off delivering this baby at the bathroom of a gas station, or in a hut somewhere in Africa, than in this hospital,” Judge Corum wrote. “Literally, this was the most dangerous place on the planet for her to have given birth.”
Court documents revealed that nurses had just completed training on the day of admission. They allegedly gave excessive doses of the labor-inducing drug Pitocin, ignored warning signs like rising fetal blood pressure and stalled dilation, and failed to act in time.
When the emergency was finally reported, the on-call doctor allegedly went back to sleep in a nearby room instead of intervening.
“The person Azaylee was to be, the person she deserved to be, is trapped inside a brain-damaged child. I cannot think of anything more profound, total or complete than that loss,” the judge declared.
Child’s Lifelong Struggle
Azaylee was delivered over 24 hours later via a delayed C-section. She suffered oxygen deprivation and severe trauma, including a misshapen head, bruising, and extensive neurological damage.
She was immediately airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital’s ICU in Salt Lake City. Now five years old, she has frequent seizures, is mostly non-verbal, and requires full-time medical care.
Her mother, Zancanella, told the court during trial: “Azaylee had her life stolen. We all did. We had her taken from us. She is trapped. I know that my daughter is in there, but she can’t come out and I think of that every day.”
The family says she attends kindergarten for only a few hours each day and depends on constant physical and occupational therapy. They also plan to get a service dog to detect seizures, while travelling with oxygen equipment for emergencies.
The $951 million ruling comes at a time when Steward Health Care is battling bankruptcy and billions in debt. This has raised concerns about whether the family will receive the full award.
The hospital where Azaylee was born has since been renamed Holy Cross Hospital–West Valley, following its 2022 acquisition by CommonSpirit Health.
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