A tragic case of alleged medical malpractice has been brought to light, involving the heartbreaking stillbirth of a baby girl. On July 24, 2024, Michael Woods and Candace Woods filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida, against Dr. Engelbert Bonilla, Dr. Desmond Thomas, and OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches, II, LLC.
According to the complaint filed by Michael and Candace Woods, they had long struggled with infertility before successfully conceiving their daughter Camilla Grace Woods through IVF in June 2022. The pregnancy was highly anticipated and all prenatal tests indicated that baby Camilla was healthy. However, complications arose when Candace presented for an ultrasound at Wellington Regional Medical Center on March 3, 2023. Despite initial reassurances about the baby's position and health, events took a dire turn over the next few days.
The plaintiffs allege that on March 6, 2023, Dr. Engelbert Bonilla observed concerning signs during labor but failed to act promptly. Specifically, he noted recurrent variable decelerations in the fetal heart rate but did not treat them as symptoms requiring immediate action. Labor nurses interpreted these signs as potentially worrisome (Category 2), while Dr. Bonilla deemed them normal (Category 1). Despite indications that baby Camilla was in distress from around midnight to early morning on March 6th—evidenced by prolonged decelerations and a shift in heart rate patterns—Dr. Bonilla delayed ordering a cesarean section.
The situation worsened when Dr. Desmond Thomas took over at 7:00 AM on March 6th. The plaintiffs claim that despite increasingly ominous fetal heart tracings indicating severe distress and lack of variability—a sign that should have prompted urgent intervention—Dr. Thomas continued with natural labor until finally calling for a cesarean section at 8:47 AM. Baby Camilla was born limp and unresponsive at 9:00 AM after being covered in meconium-stained amniotic fluid.
Efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful; she was pronounced dead at 9:22 AM due to a cord accident complicated by suspected meconium aspiration syndrome—a condition often preventable with timely medical intervention.
Michael and Candace Woods are seeking damages for profound emotional distress caused by what they believe were preventable errors made by both doctors during labor and delivery processes which led directly or indirectly to their daughter's death.
Represented by attorney Michael Acker from Gordon & Partners PA., they demand judgment against each defendant for damages exceeding $50k along with interest costs other reliefs deemed justifiable under law while requesting trial jury all issues triable right jury.