On Feb. 1, 2016, plaintiff Denise Cundari, 36, a graphic designer, went into labor with her full-term baby at San Antonio Regional Hospital, in Upland. After 15 hours of labor and multiple decelerations in the fetal heart rate, Cundari was given Pitocin to augment the contractions. She was then taken for an emergency Caesarean section, which was performed by the on-call physician, Dr. Mark Alwan, an obstetrician, who was called to the hospital by the nursing staff. The baby died once she was removed. Cundari later developed a C-section wound infection. Cundari sued Alwan; San Antonio Regional Hospital; Cundari’s treating obstetrician, Dr. Daniel Channell; Channell’s medical group, Channell Family Medical Group; the doctor on call when Cundari went into labor, Dr. Thomas Lee; and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Kamyar Safdari. The baby’s father, Ramon Martinez, was later added as a nominal defendant. Cundari alleged that Alwan and the hospital failed to timely treat her and her baby. She also alleged that the hospital failed to properly treat her labor and that the defendants’ failures constituted medical malpractice. Several of the defendants were dismissed from the case, and the matter continued against Alwan and San Antonio Regional Hospital. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Alwan failed to come to the hospital sooner and that the hospital’s nurses, who were monitoring Cundari during the 15 hours she was labor, failed to report what was happening to Alwan and her baby in time. Counsel also contended that the Pitocin increased the contractions so much that the baby did not have enough time to oxygenize between contractions. The plaintiff’s nursing expert opined that the hospital’s nurses misinterpreted the fetal heart tones and contractions pattern and that the nurses fell below the standard of care for not calling Alwan multiple times during the 15 hours of labor. The plaintiff’s expert obstetrician opined that Alwan fell below the standard of care for not coming to the hospital when he was on call in the morning or after a second call at 10 a.m. The expert also opined that if Alwan came to the hospital at 10 a.m., Alwan would have seen that the infant’s heart rate from the earlier hours was not right and would have ordered Pitocin sooner so that the baby could be delivered at that time. San Antonio Regional Hospital’s counsel contended that the nurses were appropriately monitoring Cundari and that nothing could have been done to save the baby. The hospital’s expert obstetrician testified about the nursing standard, and opined that the standard was met and that everything the nurses did was fine. The expert also opined that the nurses were appropriately monitoring Cundari and that nurses do not call physicians to report everything. Alwan claimed the nurses did not notify him about there being anything abnormal that would require him to come to the hospital. He also claimed that Pitocin was indicated based on the information he received from the nurse and that there is no maximum amount of time that a patient can labor down. In addition, Alwan took responsibility for his actions to save the baby’s life, and advanced defenses of common sense and reasonableness. Alwan’s expert obstetrician opined that everything Alwan did was within the standard., Cundari’s baby died after being delivered following 15 hours of labor. Cundari developed a wound infection at the C-section site and had to be taken back to the hospital. She was admitted for 11 days, and had to have a debridement and a vacuum-assisted closure of the wound, as well as a placement of a peripherally-inserted central catheter line. She then received home health care. Cundari missed 13 weeks of work due to her C-section wound infection and grief. She was then able to return to normal work without limitations. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Cundari was entitled to emotional distress damages for the loss of the baby. Cundari sought recovery of past medical costs, past lost earnings, and damages for her pain and suffering. She also sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of her baby. Alwan’s counsel sought a defense verdict. In the event the jury found that Alwan was liable, Alwan’s counsel suggested that $50,000 would be reasonable compensation for Cundari’s non-economic damages.