Sommers Schwartz attorney Richard Groffsky secured an $1,425,000 settlement over allegations that the defendants failed to perform a caesarean section that would have saved the life of both the mother and her child. During an ultrasound examination Maria Perry was identified as having placenta previa (abnormal positioning of the placenta partially or totally covering the cervix) and placenta accreta (abnormal growth of the placenta into the uterine wall). Due to the potentially life-threatening risks that placenta accreta poses, the widely-accepted standard of care called for her to be delivered by caesarean section between 34 and no later than 36 weeks gestation. Ms. Perry was referred to Georgia Regents Medical Center for the procedure, where she was seen and noted to be at 37 weeks gestation. Instead of admitting the patient and scheduling her for prompt delivery, the defendant-doctors sent her home with a plan to deliver her in two weeks. Nine days later Ms. Perry was believed to suffer a placental abruption and amniotic fluid embolism caused by the introduction of fetal tissue into her circulation. Three family members found her collapsed on the floor, unable to speak, and foaming at the mouth, as she arrested and died. Upon arrival at Athens Regional Medical Center, an emergency C-section was performed to deliver the baby, Lamia Perry, who was profoundly acidotic and asphyxiated and who died ten months later. The medical malpractice lawsuit was brought in a Georgia state court, and the settlement amount was limited by a damages cap unique to the defendant hospital.