On April 20 2026, Snyder & Wenner attorneys Brian Snyder and David Wenner filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against HonorHealth and other defendants for the wrongful death of Baby Maya. The lawsuit alleges that in September 2024, HonorHealth nurses and providers failed to recognize clear signs of fetal hypoxia and delayed performing an emergent c-section. Due to this delay, the lawsuit alleges that Baby Maya was born with an arterial cord blood gas of 6.76 (severely acidotic) and Apgar scores of 1, 0, 0, 0, 0. Baby Maya was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Baby Maya’s parents have suffered immeasurable damages and life-changing pain and suffering due to the loss of their child. Defendants deny negligence and dispute damages.
Birth Injury and Fetal Death
Unfortunately, birth injury and fetal death cases continue to occur at alarming rates in Arizona. Nurses and doctors are trained to monitor fetal heart tracings, which help the providers determine if the baby is becoming hypoxic. These findings include minimal/absent variability and decelerations. When these issues are present, the providers must, among other actions, turn off Pitocin. Too much Pitocin administered for too long increases the pressure on the fetus, which reduces its oxygenation. While a fetus has oxygen reserves to endure through contractions, too many insults to those reserves will ultimately result in brain injury due to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. If the oxygen is reduced or cut off for long enough, the baby will be unable to survive.
Snyder & Wenner’s Experience With Birth Injury and Fetal Death Cases
Snyder & Wenner has litigated birth injury and fetal death cases in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Tucson, and Flagstaff (as well as in Philadelphia) for over 40 years. This experience has resulted in record-setting verdicts and settlements. In November 2023, attorney Brian Snyder obtained the largest medical malpractice verdict in Arizona history in Griepentrog v. Banner Health. That birth injury case resulted in a unanimous verdict of $31,850,550 against Banner Health. Because of this result and his other many verdicts and settlements, Brian Snyder was named Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year in 2025 and 2026. David Wenner was named Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year in 2024. In total, Snyder & Wenner has collected well over $300 million for its clients and families.
