Utah Judge Awards $951 Million in Hospital Negligence Case That Left Newborn Brain Damaged

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In one of the largest judgments in Utah history, a Utah judge has awarded $951 million to the Zancanella family, represented by Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers, after catastrophic hospital negligence left their daughter, AZ, permanently brain damaged.

The Zancanella family's daughter, referred to as AZ, was deprived of oxygen in utero after unmistakable signs of fetal distress were ignored and an emergency C-section was dangerously delayed.

Today, she is nonverbal, suffers from seizures, requires diapers and 24-hour supervision, and will never live independently.

Judge Corum said in a rare and unusually candid statement from the bench, "The lack of mentoring, training, education, direction, and supervision was a system failure that was a significant contributor to the negligence, gross negligence, and reckless conduct… Honestly, the way the hospital managed its personnel made it practically certain that something bad was going to happen."

SYSTEMIC FAILURES
The court found that the hospital:

• Allowed undertrained nurses to manage patients without fully understanding how to read a fetal heart strip
• Allowed undertrained nurses to manage patients without proper supervision
• Allowed its labor and delivery floor to be understaffed

DAMAGES AWARDED

• $200 million in noneconomic damages to AZ
• $110 million to her mother, Anyssa
• $100 million to her father, Danny
• $65+ million in medical and economic damages
• $475 million in punitive damages

Total Award: $951,849,363.02

DEFENDANTS
Defendants include Steward Healthcare and affiliated entities.

LEGAL TEAM
The Zancanella family was represented by Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers (David Creasy, Esq., Charlie Finlayson, Esq., and Jennifer Morales, Esq.), with co-counsel Barbara Gallagher, Esq. of Kidwell & Gallagher, LTD, and Kevin Swenson, Esq. of Swenson & Shelley PLLC.

ABOUT CLAGGETT & SYKES TRIAL LAWYERS 
Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers is a nationally recognized litigation firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a record of securing landmark verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients harmed by negligence, defective products, and corporate misconduct. The firm's team of trial attorneys is dedicated to holding powerful institutions accountable and advocating for individuals and families facing life-altering injuries.

Official Court documents, including the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order, are available upon request.

SOURCE Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers