Parents Reach Settlement In Twins' Deaths

Allentown couple agrees to $600,000 from LVH and doctors

Apr 18, 2004 | Allentown Morning Call An Allentown couple has reached a $600,000 settlement in a lawsuit over the deaths of their twin sons, born prematurely at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township.

Their twin sons were born by emergency Caesarean section on Oct. 23, 2000, during the 25th week of pregnancy, according to their lawsuit.

Raymond Daniel Haas died two days later. Ryan Daniel Haas died about a month later.

The family alleged medical malpractice relating to the prenatal care provided to the mother.

The couple reached a settlement agreement with Lehigh Valley Hospital and Lehigh Valley Physician Group prior to the suit going to trial in June.

Documents filed with the settlement papers said Janet Haas went to the hospital the day before the premature births after experiencing back pain and discomfort during a long car ride.

Several physicians who reviewed the case as expert witnesses on behalf of the couple wrote reports saying they do not believe adequate care was provided for a high-risk twin pregnancy.

They said Janet Haas should have been hospitalized overnight instead of being sent home and told to see her obstetrician the next morning.

''Certainly if the expected tests had been performed and Janet Haas admitted for appropriate observation overnight, it is my opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that labor would have been recognized and arrested without the subsequent emergency delivery of the infants several hours later,'' Dr. Lawrence Borow of Bala Cynwyd wrote.