By Lois M. Collins
Deseret News staff writer

      A jury has awarded $9.7 million to a Murray couple to pay for lifelong care of their child, who they said was permanently injured by care received at Cottonwood Hospital in the two weeks prior to her birth.
      Deserae Williams, now 8, was born with cerebral palsy and requires round-the-clock care. She is quadriplegic and eats through a latex tube that has been surgically inserted into her stomach. She has never spoken.
      Her parents, Gar and Shauna Williams, sued Intermountain Health Care, saying her disability was the result of "substandard" care she received at Cottonwood Hospital, said one of their attorneys, Bradley Parker.
      They maintained that nurses at Cottonwood Hospital misread an amniotic fluid index test that showed the child should be delivered immediately because there was insufficient amniotic fluid in the womb. The lack of fluid allowed the baby to rest on her umbilical cord, cutting off oxygen to her brain and creating permanent disabilities.
      The lawsuit also said the information was not checked by a perinatalogist — that, in fact, Cottonwood Hospital had discontinued its perinatalogy program at the time but that their obstetrician, Dr. James Bryner, had not been told that service was not available.
      The jury awarded the $9.7 million, believed to be the largest such award in the state's history, to be used for the lifelong care, special equipment needs and education of Deserae. Parker said all of the money will go into a special trust to pay the girl's medical and care costs.
      Intermountain Health Care is disappointed with the verdict, according to Dr. William Hamilton, medical director at Cottonwood Hospital. But no decision has been made as to whether the hospital chain, the seventh-largest not-for-profit chain in the nation, will appeal.
      "We believe the tests were adequately read and appropriately reported," Hamilton said. "So we are disappointed with the verdict. Our experts believe that her disabilities were not caused by the treatment received."
      Nevertheless, he said, "Our hearts go out to the family and we have no ill will. We recognize the challenges for her and for her family."
      Hamilton was not on staff at the hospital in 1991, when Deserae was born. He said the hospital now has two perinatalogists on staff.
      In awarding the money, the jury found IHC 70 percent at fault for Deserae's condition. It held Bryner 30 percent responsible. The Williamses, however, don't blame the physician and said they reached an agreement with him before the trial began. During a press conference Wednesday they publicly thanked him for the care he'd provided.
      During the two-week trial, which concluded Monday, one of Deserae's teachers testified that the girl is among the brightest, most socially adept students she has ever taught, Parker said. "She is a bright little girl trapped in a nonresponsive body."
      The class, the jury was told, has stopped singing "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "I Like Me," because as the other children clapped along, all Deserae could do was quietly cry.
      Third District Judge Sandra Peuler, who presided over the trial, has scheduled a hearing to determine if IHC should be sanctioned for failing to produce an ultrasound videotape until just before the trial. The Williamses' attorneys, Parker and James McConkie, asked for sanctions, maintaining that not only was the tape withheld but the last 10 seconds were missing, according to an Associated Press story.
      Shauna Williams said one the first things the family, which includes two other children, will do is replace the van they use. It has 230,000 miles on it and is not equipped with a lift or proper tie-downs so they can transport Shauna. They also want to replace a makeshift elevator that Gar Williams rigged with a winch to allow Deserae to play in the back yard.
      "Hopefully, now we will be able to get Deserae the best care possible," her mother said. "It's a relief to know that if something happened to us, her care would be assured."