Overview

• Judge Patrick Corum issued the award in early August after finding Steward liable in a bench ruling, marking the largest damages in Utah history.
• The case stems from an October 2019 delivery at Jordan Valley Medical Center in West Valley City, where filings say in‑training nurses gave excessive Pitocin, ignored fetal distress, and a C‑section was delayed more than a day.
• Court records state the child, Azaylee, suffered metabolic acidosis and oxygen deprivation that caused permanent brain injury, frequent seizures, limited speech, and a need for lifelong care.
• Steward denied liability in 2024 filings, then its lawyers withdrew and no new counsel was appointed, as the judge condemned the hospital as “the most dangerous place on the planet” and said the award could have been higher had Steward participated.
• Steward sold the Utah facility to CommonSpirit in 2023 and filed for Chapter 11 in 2024, and reporting notes recovery of the judgment is uncertain as Steward has 90 days from Aug. 8 to appeal.