Woman injured during C-section gets $826K verdict in Montgomery County

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A Montgomery County jury last week awarded an $825,646 verdict to a woman who was permanently injured during a cesarean section.

The jury on June 15 found in favor of Marcelle Dasilva, a Hyattsville resident who sustained lasting damage to her bladder while giving birth to her second child in October 2023 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.

“She was thrilled,” said Tim Fisher, a partner at Brockstedt Mandalas Federico in Baltimore, who represented her. “She was very emotional. She felt like she was finally given a chance to tell her story, to explain how this has affected her. The verdict and the amount will certainly make a significant difference in her life, day in, day out.”

OB-GYN Ashleigh Bouchelion, of Capital Women’s Care, was found liable for breaching the standard of care and causing Dasilva’s injury. Bouchelion and her care network company were represented by Andrew Spence, a partner at Armstrong, Donohue, Ceppos, Vaughan & Rhoades in Rockville, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Holy Cross was originally named as a defendant but was dismissed before trial and not found liable.

Dasilva, who was 33 at the time and works as a property manager, went into labor and checked into the hospital a day before her scheduled delivery. Doctors opted for a nonemergency C-section after Dasilva pushed unsuccessfully for about four hours, Fisher said.

This was her second C-section. The first had left scar tissue that essentially fused the outer walls of her bladder and uterus “kind of like glue,” Fisher said, adding that the development of scar tissue is completely normal.

While Bouchelion was separating the uterus from the bladder, she made a cut in the bladder about 8 or 9 centimeters, more than 3 inches. She made initial efforts to close the wound, then called in a urologist to complete the fix.

The baby was unharmed and delivered safely.

The cut did not fully close, resulting in a vesicouterine fistula, an abnormal connection — or “tunnel,” as the complaint puts it — between the bladder and uterus. It was closed in January 2024, but Dasilva continued to experience urinary dysfunction. She has bladder spasms and must wear pads or diapers at all times. Doctors said she should not get pregnant again due to the risk of further complications.

“She’s embarrassed,” Fisher said. “She’s humiliated by her situation.”

“It has sort of turned her life a bit upside down,” he said. “She’s constantly making quiet adjustments throughout the day that no one sees.”

Dasilva’s lawyers argued that the initial cut, followed by Bouchelion’s attempt to close it rather than immediately calling a urologist, were negligent.

The Montgomery County Circuit Court jury deliberated for two and a half hours after a six-day trial, Fisher said. It awarded $750,000 in noneconomic damages for pain and suffering, which was below the $950,000 cap that was in place at the time, and $75,656 for future medical expenses.

The amount for future expenses was relatively small for a medical malpractice case, Fisher said, because the judge determined that the expert witnesses hadn’t shown it was likely that certain medical interventions would result in improvement. He said the legal team made the strategic decision not to call up an additional expert.

“What we did ask for, we got all of,” he said.